YuGiOh! ARDA: A Real Duel Academy
by Supreme Gamesmaster Yddisac
Summary: Nagi Yuryuin: a terminally shy girl attending a school for a sport she doesn't play. This is her story, as we follow her through the Shadow Realm, the throes of romance, and, for the most part, normal life. Verae artes, vera potentia. Now on Game 3.
1. Game I: Verae Artes, Vera Potentia

A/N: Betcha didn't see this one coming, eh? I did this for a different site and figured there'd be no harm posting it somewhere else. So yeah, here it is. The following comments were included with the original release:

[Note that I have a pretty good idea of what's wrong with this already: the sentence structure is hopelessly boring, the character development is dubious at best, there's none of my usual authorial sarcasm, and the whole thing sounds like a description rather than a story. I've already written part of Episode II and can tell you that it's much, much better in all of those regards. On the other hand, I've always been awful at writing intros, and I honestly can't do much better than this; I spent a couple days revising it, believe it or not, and it is better than the original draft. Also, the lack of transition during waiting periods is basically meant to represent how the anime would handle a long pause, though in retrospect, I could have added some character development for Nagi.

If you pick out anything else, feel free to tell me. What I'd really like, though, is advice on how to improve. Step one of solving a problem is identifying it, but I'm lost as to the other steps.

All names are in Western order.]

Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to prevent confusion. By which I mean, now I have a random name generator for Japanese and can come up with names that sound distinct.

Wish me luck with the formatting. Here goes...

_**Game I: Verae Artes ~ Vera Potentia**_

It was the same thing every year — waking up late for the entrance exams, someone would always be pelting along the streets early in the morning, knocking other pedestrians to the ground and interrupting many a game. It was hopelessly annoying for everyone nearby.

Now that she was in this position herself, Nagi Yuryuin had taken careful precautions not to be late — four consecutive alarms, frequent reminders and practice for the week leading up to the exam. Those precautions were paying off now that she and her mother were pulling up to the testing facility exactly fifteen minutes early. Like any examination, the entrance exams for King's Duel Academy demanded that the students show up long before the exam actually began, so "fifteen minutes early" translated to "fashionably late."

Nagi was careful not to get her long black hair caught in the door of her family's van as she stepped outside. She didn't bother closing the door, instead patting herself down one more time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Oddly, despite planning to attend a specialized Duel Academy, Nagi didn't duel much, so she had to actually check to make sure she'd put her chosen Deck in her belt.

"You should have everything," Noriko Yuryuin assured her. Noriko was a pretty woman, with black hair and deep green eyes similar to her daughter's. "It'll be alright. You'll be fine; I know you're better than most children your age."

"If you say so," Nagi said glumly.

Patting her daughter on the head, Noriko passed Nagi a large suitcase. "Well, good-bye, then," she said cheerfully, "and good luck!"

"Yeah…" Nagi mumbled. "Bye."

Suddenly struck with hesitation, the young girl suddenly jumped forward and gave her mother kiss goodbye. Noriko giggled.

"Go get 'em!" she encouraged her daughter. Nagi smiled and closed the door.

The van was off.

/

KaibaLand was, of course, an amusement park, but it had been retrofitted as a testing ground for the day. Therefore, admissions were, in an ironic reflection of Nagi's youth, held at the entry booth to the great park. It was, essentially, a bright red box with a large striped bar stuck out to one side, designed to stand out from the subdued light blue of the walls. Of note was the small window through which to see the operator; it didn't let an entrant see the computer inside. Nagi had always wondered why the window was so tiny. Now, though, it didn't much matter to her.

She paled, swallowed hard, and approached the gate to her future.

The receptionist, oddly, was a student a year or two older than Nagi. Her eyes looked rather like Nagi's own, though her complexion was much more tanned, and her hair was a long blonde ponytail. A black-and-gold nameplate affixed to her cerulean blazer read "Nagisa Fuyumi."

Nagi blandly noted that the "Nagi" in Nagisa was written using the same character as her own name should be written with — meaning "calm." She couldn't feel less calm at the moment, though the ironic connection somehow calmed her.

"Hiya," the receptionist greeted her. "Name, please?" Even if Nagi wasn't calm, Nagisa certainly was.

"Nagi Yuryuin," Nagi introduced herself. "Ah, I have ID here…" She produced her wallet and ID card more quickly than she'd thought her trembling hands were capable of.

Nagisa managed to slip her arm out the window after a bit of maneuvering to adjust for the lack of space. "Thank you very much," she said as she took the card. She turned to a computer within the booth, one beyond Nagi's field of view, and typed quickly with one hand for a moment. After briefly examining the card one more time, she handed it back to Nagi.

"Okie-doke," she said happily, "you're in here. Hang on a sec; I have your nametag in here somewhere…"

In a way, Nagi reflected as she waited, it was very relaxing to have students handling admissions; she'd managed to stop shaking, and what little color that had been there to begin with was starting to return to her cheeks. Then again, that was probably the intention.

"Here it is," Nagisa said, finally breaking the silence. She extended Nagi's ID, along with a white nametag similar to her own.

"Thank you very much," Nagi said respectfully, noting that her hand didn't shake as she reached out to take her 'tickets.'

"'Kay, so, here you are," the blonde finished. "Enter, and best of luck." A bit more typing, and the striped bar swung up, unblocking the hole in the wall through which Nagi would enter.

She swallowed hard and stepped into KaibaLand.

/

Nagi had wandered KaibaLand so often in her youth that she was confident she could have found the gathering of entrants with her eyes closed, but there was no real substitute for being prepared. She'd looked up the meeting place just before she left; the entrants were to meet near the absurd roller coaster, the Crimson Osiris. She smiled at the irony, trying to calm herself down. It was the only ride in KaibaLand she'd never ridden.

The paths were nothing special, modeled after nature trails; gravel marked the path, while grass was off the road. It had a charming effect, though, and it was oddly fitting for such a technological masterpiece, a fusion of old and new. Somehow, even as a massive holographic tunnel of a Ferris wheel cast its shadow over the dirt, Nagi could breathe fresh air.

When she'd reached the coaster, she found an almost humorously quaint scene. Several rows of folding chairs were spread out over the ground; only eighteen of these chairs were currently occupied by hopeful students. Nagi took the seat farthest away from the coaster and waited.

She waited in silence for the longest time, accompanied only by her heartbeat. More children began to fill the seats closer to the coaster itself. This suited Nagi just fine, really; it would have been hopelessly awkward to have to talk to someone she didn't know just then.

Only two people came, after what felt like an eternity. A boy with messy brown hair, dressed in a white sweatshirt over a faded grey T-shirt, came first. "Hey," he said breathlessly, making Nagi jump.

"I guess this is the right place, huh?" He grinned sheepishly. Nagi nodded quietly, alarmed at the prospect of talking with a stranger at such an important time.

"Yeah, I'm Daigo Harukawa," he continued, taking a seat next to her. "Hopefully we'll be classmates next year, huh?" He smiled again. Where does he get that kind of energy from? Nagi wondered as she nodded mutely. Maybe he's one of those types that copes using jokes?

"Hang on," Daigo mumbled to himself. Now he's worried, Nagi thought smugly. "Where'd Natsuki-san go?"

Is that a friend of his…? Nagi mused, hoping to distract herself with her thoughts. She's almost certainly another applicant…

Natsuki-san, as it turned out, was a cute redheaded girl with two large, curly pigtails. She was actually wearing a long green dress, which was presumably why she'd had trouble keeping up with Daigo. Nagi blushed suddenly, thinking of her own garments — a black tank top and torn blue jeans — and how they measured up to the other students. Only Daigo's clothes were so casual.

"Thanks for helping me find it." Natsuki smiled sweetly at Daigo and took the seat next to him. "So who's this?"

"Oh, uh…" Daigo blushed a bit at his own gaffe. "Who are you?"

Somehow, it was much harder to talk to her fellow applicants than receptionist Nagisa. "Nagi Yuryuin," she managed to say.

"Do you know her?" Sachiko asked the boy happily. You don't? Nagi marveled.

"No," Daigo admitted, now completely shameless. "She was just sitting here alone, so I thought I'd join her." His chivalry was almost laughable, Nagi thought.

"So we got here kinda late." Every year, the black-haired girl thought happily. "I guess they're gonna be starting any minute now. You ready?"

We never know, do we? Nagi nodded anyway.

"And you're set?" Natsuki nodded, too.

"I'm good, too, so…" Daigo smiled and reclined, the picture of relaxation. "Hopefully they won't keep us waiting."

As it so happened, they didn't. Perhaps a minute of awkward silence passed before Nagisa appeared to them. A few children in the front row widened their at the receptionist's appearance; a murmur began to circulate among the entrants.

"Hi," she said pleasantly, immediately killing said murmur. "It's me again. Nagisa Fuyumi, if you didn't catch it before." Nagi had caught that before; she hadn't caught Nagisa's impressive figure, which the receptionist inadvertently outlined as she indicated her nameplate.

"So I'm here to take you to the exam rooms," she explained, suddenly adopting a distinctly maternal sort of seriousness. "You'll be coming in random groups of six. Actually, I count thirty-six people here, so that works out pretty nicely."

Nagi blinked. She hadn't noticed, but most of the chairs really were filled; only her row was left partly empty.

"Okay, so, the first group is… drum roll please…" The blonde produced a sheet of paper from somewhere — it was practically conjuring, at least to Nagi. After a dramatic pause, she started to read.

"Jack Limbon…"

"A foreigner?" Daigo muttered, his eyes widening a bit. "Geez, how good is this school?"

"Extremely," Natsuki provided. "Didn't you know? Plenty of students at King's Duel Academy are from other countries…"

But the next student, 'Takeshi Shiraishi,' was most definitely Japanese, as were the next four.

"Neato," Nagisa said. "So, if you lucky winners would follow me, we'll head to the Duel arenas. The rest of you, sit tight and psych yourselves up."

The six, already standing, huddled around their guide. Nagisa counted them quickly and smiled.

"Off we go, then!" she said happily, walking away from the coaster. The children followed closely, hoping not to break some obscure bit of protocol.

They took what little energy the other students had possessed with them; silence fell hard on the group. Daigo, especially, was starting to look very uncomfortable in the awkward silence.

"So," he said uneasily, "what do you think the proctors will be playing?"

"I don't know," Natsuki replied. "They change the Deck every year, but they usually play the same Deck for everyone. That's what my older sister said, anyway."

"Does she go here?" Daigo asked.

The redhead nodded. "Mm, Satoko Natsuki. She's a third year in Ra Yellow."

"I see," Daigo nodded. "I'll look forward to meeting her, then!" He smiled broadly and leaned back again.

Harukawa and Natsuki had hit it off quite well, and they were able to talk to each other about trivial nothings for several minutes. Nagi, meanwhile, was left with only her thoughts, though she was a lot calmer now than either of the other two would have been. It wasn't nearly long enough before Nagisa returned with a new sheet of paper.

"I'm back," she grinned, "ready to take the next group."

The first two names she read off were obviously foreign: siblings Riona Nic Cana and Cormac Mac Cana. Nagi smiled a bit; they were very happy to be in the same group. The third name, however, was very Japanese: Harukawa Daigo.

"Oh, wow," Daigo said happily, jumping to his feet. "Guess I'm off. Wish me luck!" Yes, Nagi thought; he definitely acted happy to cope with stress.

Nagi stopped paying attention to names until the last member of the group was called, "Sachiko Natsuki."

"Oh," Natsuki said. "Well, good luck, everyone." And she joined the other five to be marched off to the Dueling arena.

Now there wasn't even the sound of chatter to keep Nagi company, not that she minded much. The receptionist was very good at her real job; at this point, Nagi was pretty much ready to take on whatever the academy had to throw at her. Other students were starting to be emboldened into murmured conversations, though Nagi couldn't make out what they were saying at all.

Nagi focused on introspection instead. You'll be fine, she told herself. You can do this. Just breathe and be calm. The Duel doesn't even matter that much anyway. You'll be fine. Slowly, her heart began to relent its furious pace; her breaths became deeper and more rhythmic. But when she finally thought she'd reached a state of calm...

"Alright, we're back," Nagisa smiled, instantly silencing what little chatter there had been. "Okay, so this time we're asking for Nagi Yuryuin…"

Nagi started. Hoping to recover her dignity, she jumped to her feet, picked up her suitcase, and immediately moved to Nagisa's side.

"Rei Yumura?" The clerk was suddenly a bit hesitant. Everyone saw why once Rei Yumura stood. Her posture was eerily good; her pace far too steady and unrelenting; her eyes icy; her skin even more hopelessly pale than Nagi's, an ominous contrast with her deep indigo hair. Even her clothing was antiquated and ghostly, a frilly white blouse and matching skirt.

Nagisa's composure was impressive; after sparing the eerie girl a sympathetic glance, she turned back to the crowd and continued reading names. "Amane Hirokawa…"

Soon, six people had assembled around their guide. "That's everyone for this group," Nagisa smiled, apparently unfazed by the terrifying young woman in her retinue. "Let's go, hyuu~!"

The rides around them seemed to loom up higher than ever before, and it was a long time before they escaped the shadow of the Crimson Osiris. Hirokawa sighed quietly when they did; she was a nervous type, apparently. When she let out her breath, though, the oppressive atmosphere over the whole group seemed to lift; Nagi noticed nearly everyone in the group walking more confidently and regaining some color in their skin. Yumura, of course, was excepted.

Feeling the change in atmosphere acutely, Nagisa took the opportunity to start talking to her charges. "So," she explained, "there are three groups that'll be judging your Duel. Even if you lose, you've already been accepted if you've made it this far, so don't sweat it. Some of the proctors can be brutal at this stage.

"They've got student judges from my dorm, Obelisk Blue. I know all of 'em." She winked at the group. "They'll be fair, when all's said and done. Shizuka-chan might be a bit harsh, but she gives credit where credit's due. Still the toughest group to please, though." She frowned a bit.

"Then they have alumni, and I have no idea who they roped in this year — they're usually famous people. There's always two or three. They're the easiest group to please, 'cuz they're always drowning in nostalgia when they come back and trying to be nice."

One boy whose name Nagi hadn't caught looked rather alarmed at her tone of voice. "Not that that's a bad thing," she giggled.

"And then there are the teachers. They're completely fair, obviously, and they have the final say as to where you go, in terms of red, yellow, or blue. A lot of times, though, they're more concerned about the student's learning experience than their actual capabilities. If you wanna know how good you are, go talk to the student judges once term starts; I can tell you who they are any time.

"Other than that, well, the written test is weighted a lot more than this one, so unless you do really, really well or really, really bad, this isn't gonna change anything as to where you go. Still, the judges get to see both players' hands, the orders of their Decks, 'n stuff like that, so play smart."

The same boy now looked completely terrified, as did Hirokawa.

"Hm?" Nagisa glanced over her shoulder, bemused. "Oh, what is it?"

"So the proctors can see—" the boy started, but Nagisa laughed and cut him off.

"Oh, the proctors can't," she chuckled. "Just the judges. So they can check your strategy and stuff. The proctors duel blind, don't worry."

Nagi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If anything Nagisa was saying was true, she'd be fine, she knew it. She opened her eyes and continued walking —

— only to notice the group was being led up a long, teal staircase.

"We're here!" Nagisa was happier than the rest of the group put together. "Good luck, everyone! You'll be fine, don't worry."

Nevertheless, as she forced her body through the automatic glass doors to the Duel arenas, Nagi worried.

/

Oddly, the lobby was empty except for six folding chairs and a large desk. Nagi moved to take a seat in one of the chairs; everyone else followed suit except Yumura, who remained standing near the entrance.

"Take a seat, Yumura-san," Nagisa suggested, petting the strange girl on the head. Yumura wordlessly obeyed, finding the last empty chair, while Nagisa continued on to the desk.

The receptionist picked up a blue walkie-talkie that was tied to some surface on the desk; Nagi couldn't clearly see what that surface was.

"Hi, Toriyama-sensei," she said happily, "the next batch is in." There was a short pause as Toriyama-sensei gave his or her liege some instructions.

"Mm, okay. I'll send 'em down." Nagisa slammed down the walkie-talkie and turned back to her startled charges.

"Well," she said, "arenas one, three, five, and six are open. So Hirokawa-san, Yumura-san, you'll have to wait for a little while so the students who came before you can finish their Duels." She smiled ruefully at them. Hirokawa seemed relieved, but Yumura, of course, betrayed no emotion.

"But everyone else is alright," the blonde continued brightly. "So if Yuryuin-san could go to arena one — you'll be able to find 'em; it's a straight hallway — and if Johnson-san could head to arena three…"

Nagi leaped out of her seat at the mention of her name. To the right of the desk, she knew from experience, was a set of nearly-invisible sliding doors that would lead to the Duel arenas. She rushed over to these doors, stopping only long enough to let them hiss open. There was, of course, due drama given to the corridor's unveiling — in this case, a small cloud of steam billowing out to simulate a rush of smoke.

Arena one was, of course, the first door on the left. It, too, slid open as Nagi approached. She slipped in as quickly as she could, eager to leave the crowd behind her.

The arena was a simple construct. Two "desks" on either side of the battlefield bore a simple interface for playing the game; the most advanced features in these were the links to the field and a small slot into which a Duelist could insert their Deck for shuffling. Besides that, there was only a large white square marked off on the floor in tape, designed to indicate where the holograms would pop up.

A proctor was already standing behind the far "desk." He wore an imposing uniform; a dark grey helmet masked his face, while a long-tailed blue-and-black jacket, black trousers, and large black boots completed the rest of his ensemble. Despite his intimidating clothing, however, a kind smile adorned what could be seen of his face, framed by dark stubble.

"Hello there." His voice was much too deep and mature to be a student's, but of course, teachers at the academy served as the proctors. "I'll be your exam proctor for today. You're Yuryuin-san, correct?"

Nagi nodded as she stepped up to the podium, far from confident in her ability to speak clearly.

"Best of luck, Yuryuin-san," the proctor smiled. "If you would insert your Deck for shuffling?"

Nagi nodded again, this time fumbling a bit with her belt before carefully extracting all forty cards contained therein. What experience she had with Dueling didn't come from fights with strangers or friends — she didn't have any friends in the first place, and if she did, she doubted they would like Dueling much — so she hadn't at all perfected the art of unsheathing a whole deck at once. She wanted to count them, but she knew the machine would reject them anyway if she'd dropped any, so she methodically fed the whole block of cards to the machine, crouching a bit to reach.

To Nagi's delight, the desk whirred a bit and raised her deck to the surface of the projector as if it were some divine gift on a pedestal. Across the field, the proctor must have done the same, since the area marked off in the square immediately came alive. The effect was absolutely gorgeous, and it took Nagi's breath away — it was as if someone had dropped a beautiful opal into a prismatic sea. The whole field rippled with an ever-changing, iridescent light.

**/Duel Start/**

**Proctor Anon VS Nagi Yuryuin**

**[4000||4000]**

Nagi was sure that the proctor's unnerving helmet must have had many purposes, but one of those purposes became clear as his voice boomed about the room. "I'll go first," he announced. Though the room was only enclosed by thin red walls, his voice had a distinct echo to it. The girl cringed instinctively.

"A bit loud for you?" the proctor asked apologetically. Nagi nodded a third time, still silent.

"Sorry," he grinned. He'd modulated his voice now to adjust for the microphone's power. He drew a card with a flourish, and Nagi noticed that he was even wearing dark, leathery gloves. After appraising his hand briefly, he made his move.

"I'll activate Barrier Type Eta," he began, laying down a Spell Card.

The resulting effect on the hologram field startled Nagi — there was a bright flash of blue light in midair between her and her opponent. That light then split into a quartet of translucent blue lasers. These lasers then split off into more lasers until, eventually, a whole matrix of light barred the field between her and her opponent.

A holographic projection of the card itself appeared hovering above her interface. Nagi blinked at this sudden apparition.

"Those holograms are substitutes for the lights on your Duel Disks," the proctor explained. "If you tap them, they'll turn opaque so you can see what the card does."

Experimentally, Nagi tapped the ghostly card. Just as the proctor said, the card immediately turned opaque. She read the text on the card with interest; apparently, Barrier Type Eta was a continuous Spell Card that would prevent her from damaging her opponent outside of battle.

Nagi smirked, but only inwardly, so as to stop her opponent from knowing her thoughts. That card was a waste of space against her; she found burning to be among the least reliable strategies ever developed, and she hadn't included a single card with that capability in her whole Deck.

"Tap it again," the proctor suggested, "and it will turn back to normal so you can see your own interface." Nagi did so, and, for the first time, she spoke.

"Thank you for telling me all this." She tried to speak loudly enough that her opponent would hear her.

"No problem," he smiled back. "But I'll tell you what my cards do from now on, so it's not that important anyway. Academy policy.

"Now, then," he continued. "I'll Summon Atlantean Knight #3."

A small deluge of water seemed to pour from the ceiling. When the flow stopped, a tall, scantily-clad white-haired woman stood in the center of the proctor's field. The massive spear she carried was, eerily, even bigger than she was.

Along with the monster card, as always, a black-and-gold information placard hovered next to the hologram.

/Atlantean Knight #3\

[****]

|2000/ATK|

|DEF/0200|

It was a bit of fridge brilliance for Nagi that Nagisa's nametag was patterned after this placard.

"This monster is so strong," the proctor explained with a wry grin, "that it can't actually attack. But it's enough for me to protect my Life Points at this stage, anyway. Besides that, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Even the massive graphic for a face-down card seemed intimidating. Nevertheless, Nagi found the reserves of confidence needed to say, "I draw."

Her opening hand, as it turned out, was excellent: Phoenix Wing Wind Blast; Magic Jammer; Shining Light Knight; Decima, Druid of the Abyss; and Namashi, Sorceress of the Abyss. Her draw, though, was really icing on the cake — she'd managed to find a copy of Exiled Force. There was no reason not to play it, really, except that her field would be void of monsters by the end of the turn, a possibility her Phoenix Wing Wind Blast covered nicely. There was, of course, a gaping hole in her plan; specifically, if the face-down card negated Trap Cards, she'd be left open. Still, there was nothing her plan could do about that, and she wasn't about to trust her Shining Light Knight's 1500 ATK to hold the field for long.

"I Summon Exiled Force," she began, gently laying her card onto the appropriate slot in the terminal. There was a very slight depression in the slot, she noticed; probably to read the cleverly obscured identifier on the back of the card.

A group of hungry-looking men seemed to charge forward onto the Dueling field, one of them holding up a large plaque:

/Exiled Force\

[****]

|1000/ATK|

|DEF/1000|

Her opponent did nothing, so she continued. "I'll activate its effect, Tributing it to destroy your Atlantean Knight." A golden, flame-like aura rose around the force, winding its way into the air for some time before turning back down and surrounding the warrior on her opponent's field. The aura constricted itself around both monsters, squeezing tighter and tighter until both its victims exploded into polygons.

"After that, I'll just place a face-down —" she laid down her Phoenix Wing Wind Blast — "and end my turn."

"My turn, then," the proctor confirmed, drawing his card. "I Summon Dream of the Sky God's Heir!" What Nagi could only describe as a long-tailed blue bird with a bishop's miter soared onto the field.

/Dream of the Sky God's Heir\

[***]

|1000/ATK|

|DEF/0900|

"This card is mainly useful as a Tuner," the proctor explained as Nagi examined the card on her terminal, "but I obviously can't use it like that now. But when I Summon him, I get to draw a card."

He smiled broadly at his new card. "My Barrier Type Eta probably won't have much of an effect on your Deck, but I think this will."

Nagi's heart fell like a brick.

"Go, Barrier Type Zeta!" her opponent called.

Oddly, the animation was a small white forcefield surrounding her opponent's monster. Nagi tapped the translucent card hovering over her terminal to see what it did.

She practically fainted: "Monsters you control cannot be destroyed except by battle."

It wasn't technically the end of the world — she had three copies of Avalie the Sorceress, the great 1800-ATK beatstick, floating around in her deck, and her Shining Light Knight could still destroy Spell and Trap Cards. But it would still be a severe impediment to her playing style to be deprived of all destructive effects.

Nagi swallowed and tapped the card again, praying that she hadn't paled and given away her weakness.

The proctor continued with his onslaught. "Next, I activate my face-down — Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Oh, that wasn't good at all. Nagi had hoped to save a powerful card like Phoenix Wing Wind Blast for her opponent's boss monster, but here it was, already being forced. Still, she supposed she could buy some more time for her effects to work.

"I'll chain your target," she challenged, even as the dark whirlwind hovered above the massive image of a face-down card. "Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, activate!"

Fiery wings blew forth from where the card had been. "I'm sending your Barrier Type Zeta back to the top of your Deck," she said imperiously. "To do so, I have to discard a card, so…"

The way this Duel was going, with Avalie the Sorceress nowhere in sight, it was unlikely she'd be able to Summon boss-monster Namashi. She solemnly laid it face-up on her Graveyard slot.

"…hm." The proctor was smirking, much to Nagi's dismay. "An unorthodox choice, forsaking your Life Points in order to stall. We'll see if it's the wiser. Attack her directly, Dream of the Sky God's Heir!"

The bird flapped its wings, hurling crescents of what Nagi supposed to be compressed air flying at her. It was still hard not to flinch in the face of such realistic holograms.

**[4000||3000]**

"I end my turn," the proctor smiled.

Nagi drew and blinked at her own luck — she'd drawn a Lightning Vortex at exactly the right moment. "I activate Lightning Vortex," she declared. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy every monster you control."

With the Barrier Type Zeta on the field, her only Synchro Monster, Zephyr the Blitz, was unlikely to be useful. She sent her, Decima, to the graveyard and watched as the blue bird on the other side of the room fell beneath a torrent of lightning.

"Now I'll play the Shining Light Knight," she continued. A pillar of light eclipsed one of her monster zones and then condensed into a blade of light that a young brunette in silver-blue armor held.

/Shining Light Knight\

[****]

|1500/ATK|

|DEF/1500|

"I'll attack directly with her," she finished, "and end my turn."

The proctor was quite an experienced Duelist; he was barely fazed as the warrior seemed to bisect him with her glowing blade.

**[2500||3000]**

"Well played," the proctor complimented her.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, I draw, though I think I know what this card will be." He drew and immediately replaced his Barrier Type Zeta.

"Next," he continued, "I'll Set a single monster, now that I'm safe from that Knight of yours." As the proctor now knew, the Shining Light Knight could destroy one face-down card on the field per turn… assuming that this face-down wasn't protected, as his new one was by his Barrier.

He smirked and Nagi paled. "And now, I'll equip your Shining Light Knight with Control Armor!"

The warrior was quickly encased in a suit of armor so heavy it reminded Nagi of a coffin.

"The monster equipped with Control Armor loses 500 ATK," her opponent explained. Examination of the card, however, revealed a second, more sinister effect: if the equipped monster were to be destroyed, the card explained, one monster on the field would be destroyed. Since her opponent's monsters were all shielded, Nagi could only assume that if she were to lose her Shining Light Knight, whatever other monster she controlled would fall.

"That's it for me," he finished.

As Nagi drew, she found her hands trembling again, to her own consternation. She'd drawn another Exiled Force, and this time, it was completely useless. "I change my Knight to Defense Position and…" No, it was better to place a bluff than just end. "…Set one card face-down," she added, Setting her Magic Jammer, "and end my turn." She tried not to let her voice tremble.

"My draw…" the proctor practically sang. He smiled yet again. Nagi cringed, wondering what her opponent would be capable of.

"You're good at this lockdown stuff, aren't you?" he complimented her. "I have to end my turn here, pretty much."

Don't do that! the dark-haired girl thought vehemently as she drew. But I suppose if he's powerless with two cards in his hand, at least one of those must be some high-level monster. I'll have to keep his field clear. She mentally cursed as she saw her card. An even more worthless draw had popped up this turn — Kahkki, the Guerilla of Dark World.

She had to wonder… did she dare take the risk of attacking? Not one monster her opponent had played thus far had possessed more than a thousand DEF, but that didn't necessarily say anything about the new monster.

Still, her opponent might be able to Summon a high-level monster if she didn't attack, so it was a risk she'd have to take.

"I Summon another Exiled Force," she began. Another horde rushed out onto the field. "And then I'll switch my Shining Light Knight to Attack Position."

"Shining Light Knight, attack his face-down monster," she commanded. The swordswoman obeyed promptly, leaping through the air and bisecting the hidden card. As it turned out, the new monster had the least DEF yet. The Amphibian Guard of Atlantis, as its momentary plaque revealed, had a grand total of zero DEF.

"Then, of course, I'll attack directly with Exiled Force."

**[1500||3000]**

"I end my turn."

The proctor nodded approvingly and took his card. "Do you play chess?" he asked conversationally.

"U-um…" Where did that come from? "Sometimes, with my family. Why?"

"The play you made just now was pretty much a chess player's move," the proctor explained. "Taking a risky move in hopes of controlling the Duel at large. Nice move, by the way."

"Um… thank you."

"The difference…" Yet again, the proctor wore a devious smirk. What now?

"…is that in chess, your opponent can't topdeck a turnaround. I Summon Atlantean Knight #1!"

Under another localized waterfall, a tattooed man in blue samurai armor glowered at Nagi's assembled force.

/Atlantean Knight #1\

[****]

|1500/ATK|

|DEF/1400|

"Atlantean Knight," the proctor ordered, "destroy Shining Light Knight!"

If it weren't for the control armor, Nagi knew the Shining Light Knight would be able to fight on even ground with her nemesis, but in her bulky suit of "armor," she stood no chance. She was cut to pieces in moments.

**[1500||2500]**

"And of course," Nagi sighed, "I have to destroy the Exiled Force, since your monster is protected." The forcefield around the blue samurai flashed, as if to remind her. Then a massive explosion rocked her field, blasting her mercenaries into triangles.

"That's all I can do," the proctor shrugged. "Your go."

Nagi's draw was — of all things — another Shining Light Knight. This time, though, she didn't dare place it in Attack Position. The Atlantean Knight would do unpleasant things if it were destroyed.

"I Set one monster —" the Shining Light Knight, of course — "and end my turn."

The proctor was smiling yet again! His Deck was used to operating under strained conditions, it seemed.

"I'll Set a monster, too," he smiled, "and attack your face-down with my Atlantean Knight!"

Though the samurai's lunge was swift, the knight leapt out of its card to parry the blow just in time.

"End turn," he said, far too pleasantly.

Well, his tone of voice cinches it, Nagi thought unhappily. He's got a high-level monster he's waiting to play. And with that Barrier up, my only option… She glanced at her draw, praying her own beatstick Avalie would appear, but alas — she'd only come up with Trap Jammer.

She sighed. "I switch Shining Light Knight to Attack Position and attack your face-down."

Humorously, it was another defenseless Amphibian Guard of Atlantis.

"End turn." There was no point in laying a bluff card now; she already had one out, not that it did much.

"Same here." Nagi jumped; the proctor had apparently drawn and found himself powerless.

Of course, Nagi realized suddenly. He'd want to keep a monster available to Tribute, regardless of the beneficial effects that would ensue were it destroyed.

In that case, it was time for a turnaround. Her new card had given her the key.

"I Set one monster face-down —" Kahkki, not that it really mattered — "and activate Desperate Thunder!"

Desperate Thunder was an iffy card. It needed her to have greater field presence than her opponent and for her enemy to control fewer than three monsters; these conditions were rare. But if she met them, Desperate Thunder could destroy any card her opponent controlled — even a Spell or Trap Card.

"I target Barrier Type Zeta, of course," she grinned. A massive spark flew from her monsters into the barrier, which shattered like glass from the impact.

"And then I end my turn," she finished.

Suddenly, a new voice emerged through the proctor's helmet. "You set in there?" a mature female voice asked.

"Nope," the proctor muttered into his helmet. It must link him to the administrators, Nagi reflected.

"Okay, then," the woman replied. "Ring when you're done."

"Right." The proctor tapped his helmet. "Sorry, it's alright," he apologized. "We'll just keep going…"

Oh. The next wave has arrived.

She was distracted from her guilt by yet another demonic smirk. Nagi was starting to get sick of those. "I Summon Atlantean Knight #2," her foe announced. This knight was done up in more European-style armor, with a much larger sword than his comrade.

/Atlantean Knight #2\

[****]

|1700/ATK|

|DEF/1400|

"Attack the Shining Light Knight!"

The new Atlantean Knight was very clumsy compared to Nagi's monster, but its armor was tough, and its sword was strong. The knight fell from a single blow.

**[1500||2300]**

"And my other knight," he added, "will attack your face-down!" Obviously, Kahkki fell from one lunge by the blue samurai.

"I'm done," he sighed. "Let's see how you worm your way out of this one."

How many turns had passed now? Six? Seven? The Duel was torturously long for a mere four thousand Life Points. Still, survival was enough for Nagi, and her new card would give her that.

"If you can topdeck a beatstick," she smiled, "then so can I. I play Avalie the Sorceress!"

The long-awaited sorceress had come at last. She came wreathed in darkness, but her actual getup wasn't actually that dark, a jade shirt stretched over impressive breasts and a steel-blue long skirt. Her smile was mischievous, but not wanton; it seemed to carry a hidden wisdom.

/Avalie the Sorceress\

[****]

|1800/ATK|

|DEF/1000|

Though the first Atlantean Knight would squeeze more Life Points out of her opponent, the second would give her much more trouble were it to survive. Besides, its effect activated during its owner's Standby Phase, not when it was destroyed.

"Attack and destroy Atlantean Knight #2!" A bolt of darkness pierced the slow knight's armor long before it could mobilize to defend itself.

**[1400||2300]**

"I end my turn," she smiled.

The proctor's turn was short but deliciously satisfying. "I change Atlantean Knight #1 to Defense Position and end."

Now, it seemed, a battle of attrition had begun. Destroying the Atlantean Knight would be disagreeable with her new draw — Giant Trunade — but she had little choice but to attack if she wanted to stall that high-level monster. "I attack Atlantean Knight #1 with Avalie," Nagi declared.

Another black bolt whistled through the air and pierced the knight's armor, but the samurai didn't explode just yet. Water began to pour forth from the wound.

"So, pick a card," Nagi offered. "There's only two; left or right?"

When Atlantean Knight #1 was destroyed, its controller could look at one card in his or her opponent's hand. If it wasn't a Spell Card, it was discarded, but if it was, the controller would draw a card. With only a Spell and a Trap in her hand, either scenario was possible.

"Hm… my right," the proctor shrugged. A hologram of Giant Trunade flashed on his terminal. He smirked across the field at Nagi and drew a card.

"That's all," Nagi sighed.

"Let's see how long I can hold out," her enemy grinned as he drew. "I Set a monster in face-down Defense Position and end my turn."

Nagi drew and managed to avoid gawking. Her third and last copy of Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World had found its way to her hand in a Duel in which it was worthless.

"I attack your face-down with Avalie." A bolt of darkness shattered the card, which revealed a third impaled frog. At least I'm not the only one with three worthless cards.

The proctor drew and Set another monster, and then Nagi faced the card that would win her the Duel. Her second Phoenix Wing Wind Blast had finally surfaced.

"I Set one card face-down…" It was nearly impossible to keep her poker face on, but she had to keep her guard up. "And then I'll attack yet again." Avalie's new victim was a formidable-looking centaur bearing a large, crackling spear, but it, too, fell once the sorceress's bolt pierced it.

Then the proctor drew and smiled his infernal smile yet again. What, more? Nagi was screaming inside her own head. This Duel's dragged on for ages already… Am I that bad at just finishing things?

"The trouble with lockdown decks," the proctor explained, "is that if your opponent manages to luck out and break your combo, even for a turn, it could cost you the Duel. You don't rely on one combo, but on a series of generic cards, so you're hard to pin down… but in the end, luck can win out in the end."

In other words, you've topdecked something incredible.

"I Summon the Great Stone Statue of Atlantis!" he roared. Nagi clutched her ears; apparently, the proctor was starting to lose control.

"Sorry…" Suddenly he was back to being reasonable and apologetic. "It's just that this Duel's been a challenge, and it's sort of dragged on for a while."

Well, yes. That's the point.

But the Great Stone Statue of Atlantis didn't seem terribly remarkable; it was, of all things, a Normal Monster. All in all, it looked like a large rock with some glowing blue markings on it.

/Great Stone Statue of Atlantis\

[****]

|0400/ATK|

|DEF/2200|

What now? Nagi frowned a bit. Shield and Sword?

The proctor was on his way. "I can Tribute this guy," he explained, "to Special Summon the Stone Giant Grakal from my hand!"

The rock slowly grew and began to take on more humanoid aspects. Occasionally, a great blue spark would fly up when something particularly significant was happening — the formation of an arm or hand, for instance. The end result of this great transformation was a hulking stone behemoth with some stone semblance of clothes. Though its great hands looked like they could supply the force of a wrecking ball, what truly intimidated Nagi were its eyes, deep cavities that seemed to have no end.

/Stone Giant Grakal\

[*********]

|3000/ATK|

|DEF/1900|

The proctor was very confident in his great monster, and Nagi refused to believe it was just a beatstick. She glanced over its effect as he spoke.

"While this guy is up," he explained, "every monster on the field loses 500 ATK and DEF!"

And so they did; Avalie's stats dropped to a pathetic 1300 and 500.

But besides being a massive beatstick capable of ending the Duel in one blow, there was really nothing in its effect at all. It could inflict piercing damage, but that was about it. There was no clause stating it was immune to Nagi's card effects.

She looked up, gulped, and held her hand high.

"Attack Avalie!" the proctor commanded.

And now it was her turn to rant.

"The nice thing about lockdown decks, though…" This was fun; she found a smirk coming to her face. Was this the end, at long last? "…is that since the duels drag on for so long, with a Duelist's actions being anticlimactically negated… when the end is in sight, they tend to act hastily and not bother to cover their tracks."

"And you did?" the proctor guessed.

"Indeed." Nagi inwardly prayed that her opponent didn't have any Quick-Play Spells ready to negate her trap; though she didn't know of any, her knowledge of Duel Monsters was hardly encyclopedic. "I activate Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, again!"

Flames once again rushed up to protect Avalie, knocking the great giant off-balance. Nagi couldn't help but cringe as it toppled backwards into the massive, glowing image of a card. Even as that card graphic floated to the top of the proctor's deck, there was no response.

It was over.

The proctor whistled appreciatively. "Not too shabby."

"Game?" Nagi offered. She'd only looked up that bit of dueling etiquette just before she came; it was customary to ask the opponent if they were ready to forfeit if the stage was set for their defeat.

"Yep," the proctor agreed, sighing in relief. "Well-played. That was a challenge."

It was fascinating to watch the game field shut off. It was a similar animation to before, except played backwards — the holograms seemed to melt into some prismatic liquid that collected in the air, turning into the very picture of a huge opal before collapsing on itself and vanishing in a blink of light.

And then it was over. Nagi slumped over her desk, sighing in relief.

**\\\\Duel End\\\\**

**Victory: Nagi Yuryuin, 2300-0**

"We're finally done here," the proctor said happily.

"What took you so long? This poor girl's been having a nervous breakdown."

Nagi blushed. It had taken a long time, hadn't it?

"The girl was playing some kinda lockdown; she basically negated my every move. Eleven turns from four thousand Life Points. But like I said, we're done, so send 'er down whenever."

"Alright, then. See you."

The proctor tapped his helmet one more time and smiled broadly at Nagi. "Well, you're set, so if you can just follow the hallway to the end, we have a bus waiting. We took your stuff down; you'll be alright. Nice job, again."

Nagi nodded and collected her cards, fumbling at them a bit in her desire to leave. They'd served her well after all, she reflected.

Once she was done, she slipped them into the box on her belt and darted out the door.


	2. Game II: Hi, I'm Going to Be, etc

A/N: The following text was included with the original release:

[Episode II Comments: No, that isn't much of an epilogue. Wait an eppy; numero trois will explain all, and also begin the story of two major characters we introduced a while ago but never really brought up. Neither of those is the enigmatic Shizuka Akihara, mind; you'll have to wait a while longer for that. Sorry.

Also, moar foreshadowing!]

Masaru Takemasa (originally Hinatsu, but c'mon, we need variety) is actually much better - and three-dimensional - than he looks; Daigo just got very, very lucky. For the record, these Duels are done legitimately, with random shuffles of forty-card Decks; thus, I only control the outcome, not the process. I won't settle for something that boring in the future unless I really need a curb stomp, though.

_**Game II: Hi, I'm Going to Be Your Family This Year**_

_King's Duel Academy is established on a remote artificial island in the Pacific._

_In preparation for the new semester, which begins this fall..._

_...the students who passed through the entrance gates have been assembled._

One of the first things that struck Daigo Harukawa about the academy complex was how bright everything was.

Though the whole island was still quite forested, the muted teal of the trees seemed only a backdrop for the four great buildings that dominated the landscape. Three of them were easily identified by their vivid colours — the red, yellow, and blue dormitories for the students of Osiris, Ra, and Obelisk. The building in the centre, then, must have been the main academy, with its glass dome of a ceiling and four golden obelisks surrounding it. With the morning sun shining down on it, the whole island looked vivid and alive, in one way or another.

This was ironic, since the whole thing was artificial. It was eerie to think the trees and shrubs were growing on soil transported from the far corners of the world, but there they were.

"That's amazing, isn't it?"

Sachiko Natsuki had sought him out after her exam — he'd bombed it rather more quickly, his Deck not at all equipped to face the sort of defence presented by the proctors — and sat next to him on both the bus to the airport and the plane to Duel Academy. Apparently, his presence was comforting.

"I know, right?" Daigo smiled, letting his awe show. "And to think the whole island is artificial..."

"Huh?" Apparently, Sachiko hadn't known this. "B-but the forest, and —"

It was very rare that Daigo got the chance to explain something; more often than not, he was the one being explained to. Naturally, he seized the opportunity when it came around. "Well, the plants are real and stuff, but the soil is collected and imported from other places. Other countries build islands like this, too." In fact, he only knew of one such country — Octavian Island, built by the government on New Albion, had triggered the war that led to New Albion's assimilation by the neighbouring United Kingdom, and had thus been advertised worldwide on the news for several months. But if Japan was bothering to put a Duel Academy on their precious artificial island, Daigo supposed that America and Germany, the countries that currently dominated the Duelling scene, must have built artificial islands as well.

"That's really amazing..." Sachiko looked rather like an awestruck toddler.

A loud ping interrupted the redhead's reverie; the PA system aboard the plane had activated. "Hello, everyone," the hôtesse de l'air said in crisp, enunciated tones. "As you can see, we've reached King's Duel Academy. On landing, we request that all students report to the main academy building, surrounded by the four large obelisks, and follow all instructions given there. Thank you for your attention and good luck during the coming year."

As the PA system shut off, the plane began its decline towards the academy.

/

"Eh, figures..."

Daigo reluctantly took the scarlet nametag from the older girl's hand.

He really hadn't done all that badly on his Duel, especially considering how his opponent's Deck seemed specialized to beat his, but then again, the girl that had greeted them had said that the written exams counted for most of the sorting, and he knew he'd bombed that. So here he was, stuck with Osiris Red as a dormitory.

The uniforms the students would be wearing still had to be selected, sewn, and shipped, along with the black-and gold nametags customary for Duel Academy students. For now, then, "trial nametags" were being distributed, with gold text and a background the same colour as the dormitory in which the student would live. A little booth had been set up in the academy's lobby for the distribution of these nametags; Daigo was now at the front of the line, interfacing with the receptionists.

"It's fine," the girl smiled. "Our school isn't as elitist as other Duel Academies; you'll still have a great time."

An even older blonde next to her added, "There are inter-dorm tournaments anyway, so you can enjoy those."

Daigo blinked. "Eh, how'd you know...?"

"I was one of the student judges," she smiled. "So what uniform style did you want...?"

Though any respectable Japanese school would have a uniform, King's catered to foreign students as well by having a large selection of uniform styles, ranging from vests to the sort of long coat you'd expect a spy or criminal to be wearing. The catalogue of available styles was opened on the large desk from which these students conducted the sorting ceremony; here, Daigo would select which style he'd be wearing during the year.

He brushed a bit of hair out of his eyes as he bent to examine the uniforms. Everything on this page seemed too formal, he frowned. The next page was even worse, populated entirely by long coats. He flipped two pages back... There was something; a light jacket with jeans.

"This'll be good." He smiled as he looked up; he'd look excellent in that.

"Gotcha..." This time, it was a young man that took down his choice. "What density of black markings do you want?"

The first girl to speak slapped the boy. "Ow..." he muttered, rubbing his cheek.

"Mm, black markings... Is it possible to get just a rim around the cuffs and down the middle?"

"Of course." The boy smiled awkwardly up at him. "Harukawa Daigo, number... twenty-three-M-A. Good luck," he said cheerfully.

"Thanks," Daigo replied with all the happiness he could muster. Then he stepped aside and let the next person step up to the line.

As Daigo left, he heard the boy add, "What was that for?"

"Using that phrase on a Red, honestly..." the girl hissed back.

Daigo chuckled; they certainly seemed to have an interesting dynamic going on. "So now I guess I have to find the dorms..." he muttered to himself."Shouldn't be hard, I could see 'em from the air."

Somehow, he felt as if some burden was being lifted from him as he spoke. It'd be better if I had someone to talk to, but... Sachiko had vanished on him; he was on his own.

"Guess I'm crazy for the day," he grinned, continuing on his way.

Stepping outside the complex did Daigo's mood some good. The lobby, oddly, had been stifling; the light and fresh air outside were highly refreshing. He didn't have a map, but then again, he hardly needed one; all he needed to do was find a towering red building and he'd have found his dorm. Just ahead of him, he realized, was the Obelisk Blue dorm, a hulking blue building on the horizon.

"The buildings were in a triangle..." As usual, just hearing words aloud was calming. "So the other two dorms should also be visible from here. And I'll get to see the other students..."

As he jogged around the circumference of the building, he did, indeed, get some good people-watching done. A small group of boys from Obelisk Blue, for example, were loitering on the path, but an imposing dark-haired girl in a long coat from the same dorm was clearly not happy with their behaviour.

"I told you, it's to learn about the competition for the next year..." The speaker was the only one that wasn't silenced by what Daigo could now see was a bone-chilling glare from the girl; Daigo guessed that he was the leader of the group. "Colleges love it if you do well in the inter-dorm tournaments..."

Already, the new Osiris Red was quite happy, but the girl's reply made him laugh aloud, icy tone or no. "Mm-hm. So when he's eyeing up Fuyumi-san, he's learning about the competition? You learn something new every day; I wouldn't have thought his mind was capable of that."

A yellow building was starting to enter his field of vision. "Ah, there's the Ra dorm... Guess I went the wrong way."

There was Sachiko; her nametag, he could see from here, was a muted yellow. The gold text was a bit darker than on his, so as to make it stand out from the background. She was talking to the girl he'd sat next to during exams, Nagi Yuryuin, who also wore a yellow nametag. Daigo couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.

Not like I won't see her during classes, though. He'd be rather embarrassed if she saw him with the red tag; it'd be best if she found out later, when he didn't have to explain himself.

"It's strange, though..." Sachiko was saying, a bit anxious about something. "I mean, I thought for sure I was going to Osiris Red... and just from your speech, it sounds like you're more of an Obelisk Blue type..."

"Well, I suppose impressions don't give the whole story," Nagi shrugged. Now Daigo knew what was making Sachiko nervous; Yuryuin didn't sound friendly at all. He didn't know if he'd associate her with an intellectual, but she sounded almost as cold as the Obelisk girl he'd seen earlier, albeit in a different way.

"So, ah, I'd like to explore the dorm..." Nagi turned her shoulder first and walked quickly; Sachiko, affronted, followed only tentatively, biting her lip.

"I'll worry about them tomorrow," Daigo muttered to himself, continuing to jog.

It wasn't long before his future home loomed before him. The walls were much darker than the absurdly bright roof; Daigo would probably be grateful for that as the days wore on. Only two people wore the full red uniform there; one wore a light jacket and was very tall, while the other wore a tank top and skirt and was very short. Their hair colours and complexions were so similar that, were it not for the absurd difference in height, Daigo would have thought the two siblings. Everyone else was in normal clothes, red-and-gold nametags excepted, and Daigo recognized some from the plane ride there.

The two in full uniforms were being approached by an outright thuggish young man. His bulky shoulders were hunched a bit, but his step was strong and confident — almost arrogant, Daigo wanted to say based on his first impression. Though Daigo couldn't see his face from his angle, his head was held high — or was his nose in the air? The line between bravery and snobbishness blurred in this boy.

The tall boy, on the other hand, was firmly on the "bravery" side of the line as he cocked his head, his handsome golden hair falling to one side, at the new boy's arrival. "Hi, I guess," he said in a marvellously diplomatic tone — not overtly offensive, but clearly less than impressed with his new roommate. "So, yeah. You've got a room ready with your name on it. Good luck."

The thuggish boy nodded slightly and stalked inside.

Daigo couldn't help but notice that the students around him had pretty much stopped in their tracks for fear of their new peer. He frowned a bit. I guess his face was that scary, then. But c'mon, no one can be that bad...

...right?

He strolled up to the door through the crowd.

"Hi." The tall boy greeted him with a considerably lighter tone than he'd just used, and he accompanied it with a dazzling smile. "So you're in this dorm, huh? You'll be fine, unless that guy acts up." He frowned at the door. "There's always one or two of those thugs in our dorm every year. Most people hate 'em and with good reason."

Daigo was having trouble coming up with a better word to describe this boy than thug.

"So your room is..." The short girl was speaking now, apparently invigorated by her partner's words. She consulted a small pad of paper in her hands, flipping through the pages a bit.

Then her face fell. "Oh... you're that boy's roommate..."

"Oh, of all the luck..." Though Daigo was very unhappy, the people around him seemed to have breathed a collective sigh of relief. "I guess I'll take one for the team, then," he shrugged.

"Well, um, the door has your name on it," the girl directed, "and if you go in and take a left, and then keep going straight until you reach the corner, your room should be there."

"Thanks." Today just wasn't his day, was it? Oh, well.

Time to go meet his new roommate.

/

Daigo's new room looked like a luxurious hotel room more than anything else. A surprisingly wide set of bunk beds was on the far wall — with red sheets, of course. The walls were still red, but they were a muted pinkish colour where the beds were a vivid scarlet. A dark red carpet covered the floor of the room; on it was a long wooden desk. On the other side of this desk, Daigo noted, was his suitcase, and his roommate, who was apparently going through Daigo's possessions and removing anything of value.

...wait.

"Hey!" No matter how fearsome this thug might be, there were some things Daigo just couldn't forgive, and stealing his things before term had even begun was among them. "That's my stuff!"

The thug gave him a demonic glare with deadened brown eyes. "And?" he challenged.

Definitely arrogant, Daigo reflected, no matter how confident he might think himself.

"I'd appreciate it if you left my belongings to me." The boy's leer was ominous, but he had nothing on the Obelisk girl from earlier; there was no cold intelligence behind his eyes, but an uncontrolled fire. Daigo was not impressed.

"And I'll leave your belongings to you," he added, hoping this boy was more of a yakuza than a bully.

"..." His roommate ignored him entirely and continued rummaging through Daigo's suitcase.

Now Daigo was angry. "Leave my stuff alone!" he roared. Personally, he thought he was rather scarier than his roommate's ineffectual glaring.

"No, thanks," said roommate said flippantly. He would have kept going if Daigo hadn't slammed the case's cover down on his arms.

"I said," Daigo repeated slowly, "leave... my... stuff... alone."

Daigo would be damned if his roommate would intimidate him out of having a good time at this academy. His roommate, apparently, would try, starting with a horrible glower that Daigo met with stalwart confidence.

"I'm afraid," Daigo proclaimed, "that you won't be pushing me – or anyone on this island," he added, thinking of the Obelisk girl, "around with just glares and arrogance."

The roommate just glowered at him. Daigo met his gaze for what seemed like hours. It seemed to lose much of its effect as time went on, he noted. Finally, his opponent lowered his head and turned away.

Well, at least he wouldn't be too much of a problem. It seemed he was a typical bully – cowering from anyone he couldn't control. He slinked over to the top bunk, where his own suitcase, recognizably beige and battered, was opened, and his clothes strewn about.

As he turned around to lie down, Daigo caught his nametag — Masaru Takemasa.

Already, anger was swelling within Daigo. This was going to be a long year.

/

The dorm was a luxury hotel. The walls didn't burn her eyes despite being yellow (the colour was well-muted). She hadn't failed her entrance exams. Yet Nagi was still berating her own lack of foresight well into the night. Why?

Nagi had quite forgotten, in the excitement of having not failed her entrance exams too badly, that she was supposed to have a roommate. For someone who, in her own words, didn't like talking to people, having to live with someone she'd never met before was a bad thing.

Well, she'd technically met Natsuki before, but...

Still, she didn't feel comfortable at all sleeping in the same room as someone she didn't properly know. If she did, she probably would have been asleep five hours ago.

/

"Time for tea, sir?"

A young blonde popped her head in the door to the small white room.

"Ah, most certainly."

The man who responded was seated at a black chair at a black table in the back of the room. Nevertheless, he was dressed in a crisp black-and-gold suit. His black hair, slightly greying, was slicked back neatly, and, puzzlingly, he also grew a black goatee.

The blonde couldn't help but wonder why such a good-natured and jolly man was so preoccupied with the colour black.

Beside him stood a woman with dark red hair in a neat bun. She wore a similar suit, contributing to the effect of the black mass in the white room.

"Eh?" The red-haired woman narrowed her eyes warily. "But your appointment..."

"Oh, was there an appointment?" the blonde said sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I must have missed something on the schedule..." She produced a PDA from her shirt pocket and consulted it again.

"It wasn't publicized to your level," the redhead said sharply. The man, however, smiled.

"Oh, it's fine," he said, dismissively waving a hand. "We can all have tea together... it can help us welcome our special guest."

The blonde was absolutely mystified now. "Special...?"

The redhead sighed deeply and inhaled. Then she rattled off a canned explanation:

"One of our new students is to play a special role with us this year. We're relying on her for certain services, so we have to keep her happy. The headmaster arranged for an appointment to discuss her impressions of the school, so as to ensure she's willing to work with us."

"...wow..." The blonde wasn't sure what to be more impressed with: the mysterious student employee, or the fact that her superior had managed to say all of that without stopping to breathe.

"You make it sound so business-like." The man chuckled, his chocolate eyes laughing with him. "I just want to make sure we're providing for our students. After all, while we're certainly relying on our special guest, it's possible that we can teach her some things, too."

"That is what we do best," the blonde laughed, stepping fully into the room. "So, shall I set this down?"

"Ah, please do. She should be here any moment..."

On cue, the door creaked open. The blonde blinked in surprise; her superior glared at her.

"Ah, here you are!" the headmaster said enthusiastically. "Come, sit down. Do you like tea?"

Rei Yumura nodded silently.

/

Joy. He hadn't even learned anything, and already Daigo was betting the rest of the year on a Duel. Why had he bothered agreeing to something like that?

Oh, yes, that's right.

/

"Wh - now you're stealing my toothpaste? I thought we just went over this!"

Masaru Takemasa was stubbornly silent.

"Takemasa-san, cut it out. Gimme back my toothpaste."

"Don't say my name."

How arrogant can this thug be? Daigo marvelled silently. Once again, it seemed that force was necessary "Now," he growled.

Another contest of wills ensued. Once again, Daigo won without much difficulty.

But it seemed that he'd won too easily. He'd have to check if anything else of his was stolen after he brushed his teeth.

By the time he was done, Takemasa had climbed into bed and was pretending to sleep. Daigo wasted no time in finding his suitcase and rummaging through all the contents.

Clothes... check. Toiletries... check. Deck... deck... deck... check? No, no deck...

...no Deck?

"Takemasa-san!"

Takemasa pretended to sleep, though it was painfully obvious he was still wide awake.

"Where's my Deck, Takemasa-san?"

No response.

"Takemasa-SAN! WHERE'S MY DECK?"

Finally, he got up and started rummaging through his things. It took him altogether too long to find a Deck and throw it back down to me, scattering the cards all over the floor.

"You're using it wrong, anyway," Takemasa grumbled before turning over again. "Now lemme sleep."

Daigo now had to collect his cards - thankfully, they were his. "This isn't going to go on, Takemasa-san," he growled as he scampered about. "I'm not gonna tolerate this."

"I'm not gonna tolerate you," Takemasa replied.

"You misunderstand. You don't own this dorm," Daigo growled, still packing his cards together.

"It's a Duel Academy," Takemasa said dismissively. "So obviously the better Duellist is in charge. Since you have that crappy Deck, I'm obviously the better Duellist."

"You say that like it settles things." Daigo had finished now, and he stood with a snarl. "But in fact, we're both in Osiris Red. So you can't be that great either."

"I am."

Daigo was now so angry he could barely see straight, which would probably explain why he quietly but furiously murmured, "You and me, tomorrow, the Duelling field. Then we can decide who, based on your insane troll logic, should rule this dorm."

"Fine."

And that was that.

/

But really, this was ridiculous! The Duel fields were only opening today!

And yet he was still loading his Deck into his Duel Disk and tossing the sensor bats to either side as he began the first Duel of the year.

"Ready for this?" Takemasa challenged, cracking his neck ominously. You're still trying to intimidate me? Daigo snarked in his mind. Give me a break!

"Yeah," he replied, smiling confidently. Well, at least he looked confident. He still couldn't get one bit of advice out of his mind, though, from a magazine he once read:

"Don't try and fight a mugger. They do this for a living. They're better at it than you."

Granted, Takemasa was the least competent mugger Daigo had ever seen, but...

**/Duel Start/**

**Masaru Takemasa VS Daigo Harukawa**

**[4000||4000]**

Whew, a good hand. Doom Fighter XF-04, one of the game's fastest beatsticks since Cyber Dragon, and Syvor the Battlemaster, a 1900-ATK Level 4 monster, had both landed in his hand on the first turn. He even had Compulsory Evacuation Device, which would help if he needed to save his monsters in a pinch or pull out the Doom Fighter, and two other monsters, Andrag the Shieldmaster and Brash Wind Fighter, to help him.

Takemasa, in contrast, frowned a bit at his hand. We're off to a good start, Daigo thought happily.

"For my first move," he intoned, "I Summon the Android Army - Missile Black!" A steel cylinder about two metres tall popped out of the ground in front of Daigo's foe, and from it emerged a surprisingly short black robot. Its distinctly inhuman blue eyes leered with mechanical menace as a plaque materialized above its head.

/The Android Army - Missile Black\

[****]

|1600/ATK|

|DEF/1300|

"Then I activate its effect," Takemasa continued, "letting me send a card from your hand to the Graveyard. Go on, send one."

Daigo barely hesitated before throwing Andrag the Shieldmaster into the Graveyard.

"Now I end my turn," he said flatly.

Wait... that's it? No face-downs or anything?

Daigo could barely believe his eyes. He tapped his Duel Disk to see what else Missile Black did - when it attacked, his card effects would be negated, except for the defending monster's effect. That was a detrimental effect, to be sure, but it had nothing terribly effective, especially on the first turn.

He drew his sixth card and frowned - Secret Ambush Strategy was worthless while Missile Black was on the field. Oh, well. "I Summon Syvor the Battlemaster!"

A tall knight slightly taller than Takemasa literally fell from the sky, kicking up a huge cloud of dust as he landed. The reason for that became clear as the dust did - besides his armour, he carried a massive claymore as his weapon. A plaque soon followed him.

/Syvor the Battlemaster\

[****]

|1900/ATK|

|DEF/0400|

"Attack Missile Black, Syvor!" he commanded, eager to see how his opponent would respond. "Battlemaster's Blade!"

The android fired several missiles at Syvor, but he managed to dodge through them all. He actually slashed straight through the last missile before hurtling forward at high speed and eviscerating his mechanical opponent.

**[4000||3700]**

"Then I'll place a face-down..." It was possible that Masaru had a bigger beatstick up his sleeve - it wouldn't surprise Daigo, given his name and personality - so it was best to lay Compulsory Evacuation Device now in case he needed to retreat and play the Doom Fighter.

"...and end my turn."

Masaru drew and frowned again. "I Set a monster in face-down Defence Mode and end my turn."

That's Defence Position, Daigo couldn't help but think as he drew, his own frequent misuses of the word notwithstanding. Sanati the Bowmistress - good, but irrelevant while a certain other monster was in his hand. "I Summon Brash Wind Fighter," he smirked.

A small tornado whirled into existence on Daigo's field. From the centre of it emerged a scantily-clad, braided-pigtailed blonde wielding a maple leaf fan and a confident smirk. A confident warrior girl from a tornado... just what you'd expect a Brash Wind Fighter to be.

/Brash Wind Fighter\

[**]

|1000/ATK|

|DEF/0000|

"It's so weak," Masaru smiled.

"She's a Tuner," Daigo smiled back. "And I'm gonna tune her to Syvor the Battlemaster."

Masaru's smile vanished.

"Synchro Summon...

Kaiser Attack Challenger!"

/

"Eh? Those students are Duelling already..."

Nagi blinked.

Earlier that morning, after a completely sleepless night, she had allowed Natsuki to drag her around the academy complex, supposing it was the best way to tour the grounds. It had turned out surprisingly well; while she certainly hadn't been at all comfortable, they'd already found the dorm advisor, a cheerful young blonde named Takahata-sensei, carrying a tray of tea to the headmaster's office, which made two essential acquaintances already. Then they'd explored inside the main building, finding a few of their classrooms before finding the Duel arenas in the centre of the facility.

Natsuki was correct - one stadium was already in use, and it had attracted quite a crowd. From the hallway, Nagi watched as six glowing green rings aligned into a huge cylinder.

"A Synchro Summon..." Natsuki was in awe, her eyes shining. Nagi found it impressive as well, but that was a bit ridiculous. She pondered trying to escape while her roommate was distracted; then she remembered that Natsuki was her roommate and that it was probably best to try and get along with her.

A great green laser filled these rings, and when the light disappeared, a female warrior in massive black armour had taken the stage. She wielded, of all things, a titanic kusarigama.

Nagi couldn't see the plaque from this angle, but it didn't much matter, since Natsuki was already grabbing her arm and trying to drag her away, towards the duel fields.

"Can you let go of me?" Nagi asked as she shook her hand loose. "Thanks..."

Natsuki was already walking away, rather more slowly than Nagi would have expected. She followed anyway.

/

/Kaiser Attack Challenger\

[******]

|2000/ATK|

|DEF/1800|

Masaru was not impressed. "You had me worried there for a second," he said in a tone that somehow made Daigo even angrier.

Don't let him get to you, he thought. That's letting him win. You're in charge.

"If you think my Attack Challenger is a beatstick, think again," he smirked. Wait - he probably doesn't think... Oh, whatever, it sounded witty enough. "I still have to make my Attack Challenge!"

"And just what is that supposed to be?"

"I get to drag a monster out of your hand. Go on, pick one," he echoed. The Attack Challenger whirled its kusarigama menacingly.

Masaru frowned and placed his monster.

The armoured knight lashed out with her holographic chain at an amazing speed, snagging the card on the sickle's blade. She dragged out a pod similar to the one that had carried Missile Black. However, the metallic monster that walked out of this one was much bigger - a supernaturally huge metallic skeleton that matched the Kaiser Attack Challenger in size.

"Chrome Skull gains a hundred ATK for every level star on the field," he explained dejectedly.

/The Android Army - Chrome Skull\

[******]

|1200/ATK|

|DEF/0000|

"How ironic," Daigo grinned. "Kaiser Attack Challenger gains a hundred attack for each Level Star your summoned monster has!"

/Kaiser Attack Challenger\

[******]

|2600/ATK|

|DEF/1800|

"Now," he finished, "they do battle. Go forth, Kaiser Attack Challenger! Kaiser Sichel!"

It was one of the greatest anticlimaxes Daigo had ever seen. The Kaiser Attack Challenger eviscerated her opponent in mere moments.

**[4000||2300]**

"She can't attack again," he said, "so I end my turn."

Masaru drew his card quickly and irritably. Then he smiled. "Flip Summon," he ordered. "The Android Army - Laser Blue."

Yet another pod emerged from the holographic card. The inhabitant was a humanoid blue robot toting a very large gun.

/The Android Army - Laser Blue\

[****]

|1500/ATK|

|DEF/1800|

"If you have a monster whose DEF is higher than this card's ATK," Takemasa warned, "this guy's effect will take it out right away in a battle."

Oh. Well. That rather ruined Daigo's plans... or did it?

"Go and attack!"

"Not so fast," Daigo replied. "I activate my Trap Card, Compulsory Evacuation Device! It'll send a monster on the field back to its owner's hand... and I pick Laser Blue."

"Compulsory..." Masaru couldn't believe his eyes. "You actually used..."

The android loaded its gun onto its shoulder and took careful aim at the armoured warrior before it. Rings of cyan energy began pulsing down its rifle. A pinpoint of blue light appeared on the exposed neck of the Attack Challenger.

And then the ground below it exploded. It twirled about through the air for a few seconds before it was finally thrown away in a glimmer of light.

"...I Set another monster," Takemasa muttered, "and end my turn."

Oh, for... He can still stall? No wonder he has no counters, he must not have any Spells or Traps! But that's total n00bishness, I mean, really...

But Daigo was elated - he'd basically won. His draw cinched it. "I activate The Warrior Returning Alive," he declared with a goofy grin. "That'll let me add Syvor the Battlemaster, victim of synchronization, back to my hand. So, of course, I'll Summon him to the field."

Once again, the claymore-wielding soldier dropped from the sky, shooting a smile at his comrade as he did so. The Kaiser smiled back, though her smile was obviously a great deal more chaste than Syvor's.

/Syvor the Battlemaster\

[****]

|1900/ATK|

|DEF/0400|

"Attack his face-down," Daigo ordered. Another pod appeared, but with a massive slash, Syvor was able to cut it in half without its even opening. Only the death animation revealed that another Missile Black had fallen.

"I think we know who the better Duellist is now," Daigo Harukawa said. "Finish him, Kaiser Attack Challenger! Kaiser Gnadenschuss!"

And in one lightning-fast flick of the kusarigama, Daigo's total superiority was established.

**\\\\Duel End\\\\**

**Victory: Daigo Harukawa, 4000-0**

/

"Hmm..."

Unlike his friends earlier, Kazuya Kashiwaya really was learning about the competition. This second-floor walkway was the perfect vantage point from which to do so - it would allow him to think and express emotion on the Duel without being disturbed.

He lowered his head as he thought, letting his white-blond hair cover his eyes. The victorious Duellist had only really won, he reflected, by luck - Takemasa's deck almost certainly wasn't that bad, especially if he'd bothered running Laser Blue. But what had gotten his attention wasn't Harukawa's total victory, but his inclusion of the card Compulsory Evacuation Device. Ordinarily, that card was considered vastly inferior to its cousin, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, but it had two advantages... it didn't have a cost, and it could instead add cards to its user's hand.

Significant, if one sought to wield the Doom Fighter XF-04 as Harukawa had.

Doom Fighter XF-04 wasn't a statistical nightmare - 2400 ATK, 1900 DEF; most Synchros could stand up to it - but its Summoning conditions were truly what made it great. It wasn't Summoned by Tributing two monsters on the field, but instead by discarding two monsters from the hand. It couldn't attack on the turn it was Summoned and it was destroyed whenever it was targeted by an effect, or else it wouldn't be unlimited, but Akihara had demonstrated to him last year what a powerful wall it could be.

Compulsory Evacuation Device had almost certainly been included to allow its wielder to Summon the Doom Fighter in an emergency during a period of field superiority such as Andrag the Shieldmaster, discarded on turn one, might provide. But Harukawa had also used it to disrupt his opponent's attempt at a turnaround - a fairly advanced manoeuvre, especially for a Red, and one that demonstrated versatility and flexibility.

This in turn meant two things about him as an opponent. The first was that he tended towards flexibility and versatility - and a tendency, as Kazuya knew all too well, meant a weakness.

The second was that he would nevertheless be a dangerous foe.


	3. Game III: Of Roommates and Rivals

A/N: The following comments were included with the original release:

[Finally, I get to show my stuff! Nagisa and Kazuya are much better Duellists than Daigo and Masaru (doy), much more confident and less frustrating to watch than Nagi, and not deliberately playing bad moves to test their opponents like the proctor. Theirs, therefore, is the first real Duel. I played the end for comedy, though. I figure rigidity is a weakness of Kazuya's. Don't worry – when he plays with his own deck, it'll be far more climactic, though he'll probably curb-stomp a few opponents first just to make up for this lulzy ending.

I'm not at all sure about having Toriyama call the school down to watch the inaugural Duel, but it seems like a good way to introduce the whimsy of the staff (I'm a little too Touhou-inspired, perhaps; all my authority figures are super quirky now), and I have to develop all these characters somehow.

Beware the nice ones... ]

Also, FF . net has some kind of vendetta against separator lines. And URLs.

_**Game III: Of Roommates and Rivals**_

"Hello, everyone!"

The auditorium was a spectacular place. It had clear walls and a glass ceiling, so the sun could shine through and bathe the students in light. Perhaps more amazingly, grass grew on the floor – it was more like an enclosed courtyard than an auditorium. Even Daigo found himself breathing easy in the natural atmosphere, though the walls around him served to guide the headmaster's voice to his ears.

"I hope you find King's Island a suitable place for your education," said King's Duel Academia Headmaster Yuusaku Maruyama, Ph.D. His voice was strong and kind, that of a great protector. Even in this place of nature, he was immaculately dressed in a black suit and black pants.

"I am, as you can see, King's Duel Academia Headmaster Yuusaku Maryuama, Ph.D. If ever you have any concerns that you feel may suit the ears of the highest authority, such as a problem with our staff – though I foresee very few of those," he added with a warm glance at the long table of teachers behind him. "Well, feel free to see me.

"Your schedules will be posted tomorrow by noon in this room, as well as on your own personal account on the school website. Therefore, entry to this room shall be prohibited until noon on that day. You have noticed, of course, that we've included two laptops in each of your dormitories. These computers are for your personal use. Please take care of them. They include a number of useful programs and should be of great use to you this year."

Nagi, who had spent the last night trying and failing to sleep with a stranger in the room, had noticed nothing of the kind. Sachiko, the admittedly well-meaning stranger in question, hadn't either, judging by her incredulous expression.

"On the note of dormitories," the headmaster continued, "we have, of course, assigned your roommates for the rest of the year. We'd like to ask that you try and get along. However, if it's absolutely necessary for you to demand a change of roommate, feel free to ask your dormitory administrator and we'll be happy to hear you out.

"And now, I'd like to introduce our dormitory administrators! For our friends in Osiris Red, Toru Okamoto will be your overseer this year!"

Daigo applauded along with the rest of the Reds as Toru Okamoto stepped forward. He was a tall, thin, handsome young man with a slight beard and a playful smile. For the occasion, he was dressed in a dark red tuxedo and matching pants.

"Glad to be working with you," Toru said, raising a hand in greeting.

"Okamoto-san, if you'd like to say a few words…" The headmaster stepped back.

"Thank you." Okamoto-sensei stepped forward.

"Yo," he began. "You're probably pretty bummed about winding up in the lowest dorm. It's not that bad, though. I was in Osiris Red way back when, and look at me now." He grinned roguishly.

"'Course, back when I was in school, the Reds didn't have electricity or running water, and they had this little shed out on a cliff for a dorm. Nowadays, you guys get the same dorms as everyone else. And – correct me if I'm wrong – they're awesome."

There was more applause from the red section. This time, though, they were joined by some yellows and a few blues.

"And that whole trend is pretty much the same throughout the school," said a smiling Okamoto. "Of course, that's partly because they sued the old Duel Academy for the crappy dorms, but also because we're overall better about that kind of thing. We sort people a lot more based on regular academics than Duelling potential here, so your whole experience is probably gonna be a lot better. Your diploma's still gonna look great even if you were in Osiris, so don't worry about that. Plus, you actually stand a pretty good chance in the inter-Dorm Duels."

The Reds went ballistic at that last one. Nagi plugged her ears to block out their screams. Okamoto laughed encouragingly as he waited for the noise to die down.

"All right, all right," he chuckled. "That's enough. So anyway, I think we're gonna have a pretty good year together. Whaddaya say?"

Nagi managed to plug her ears before the Reds exploded this time.

"All right, that's all for me," said Okamoto. "If you need anything, just ask, and I'll be there. For everyone else, see you in English." He winked out at the yellow and blue sections before gallantly stepping back and handing the microphone to the headmaster.

"Thank you," said Maruyama. "Now, then, the administrator for Ra Yellow… Satsuki Aoki!"

Nagi politely applauded from within the sea of excited Yellow students at first, but eventually, the noise got to her and she had to plug her ears to prevent a severe headache.

"Hi, all!" A surprisingly young blonde with a radiant smile waved to her charges. She wore a professional, dark

"Aoki-san?"

"Thank you, Maruyama-sama." She scanned the crowd of students before her.

"See, now that he's gone," said Aoki, "you guys will want an awesome speech, and really, I'm just not as good at talking as that guy! 'Course, that isn't saying too much, but…"

Okamoto shrugged from his seat at the staff table.

"Anyway…" Aoki kept scanning the crowd and

Nagi felt the shock of the teacher's piercing blue eyes leaping straight into hers.

The eye contact only lasted for an instant, but it was definitely there. Nagi felt herself growing cold in spite of herself. Then Aoki-sensei's eyes moved on.

"So Ra Yellow is the normal dorm," said Aoki. "It's usually the biggest – lots of people in it – "

Nagi could have sworn Aoki looked at her again, but she was now keeping her eyes fixed on a spot just to the left of the dorm advisor's head, so it was hard to say.

" – and, y'know, the normal workloads and stuff… It's very normal. It's even the colour of Normal Monsters, see?"

And suddenly she was holding a Dark Magician in her free hand.

The Ra group burst into riotous applause before Nagi could shield her ears. She plugged them yet again and set to thinking – how did she do that? Was she hiding it in her sleeve, or…? No, that requires a flick of the wrist, and it's far too obvious besides…

But maybe she had kept it beneath her golden cuffs – ninety percent of magic was misdirection, after all.

Aoki seemed a bit overwhelmed by the response her trick had generated. "Uh, thanks?" That got a bit of laughter, but she mostly quieted the group.

"Now, we're a lot more useful than Normal Monsters, mind…" she continued. The card seemed to vanish into thin air, generating yet more applause. Nagi half wanted to keep her ears shut, but she wanted to hear this suspicious teacher speak.

"And remember, what Okamoto said before goes for us, too. You're sorted based on all your classes, not just Duel Monsters like most academies. I'm sure there are some brutal Duellists out there…"

Now Nagi was sure the teacher's eyes were cast in her direction, or at least in Sachiko's or Satoko's. Her roommate's considerably more reserved brunette sister had been sitting near Nagi during this whole presentation, having been dragged over by the forceful Sachiko.

The black-haired girl had to squirm a bit. She wasn't much good at the game known as Duel Monsters at all. Well, all right, she was good enough to win a local scholarship tournament, but that had been pretty much life-or-death for her, and more to the point, whoever took "lolocals" seriously?

In any case, she didn't actually like playing Duel Monsters, so whether she was good or not, she wouldn't be participating in the inter-dormitory tournaments. Nagi silently prayed that Aoki had been looking at Satoko.

She only realized that she'd been tuning out the teacher's speech when the applause started up again.

"And for everyone in Osiris and Obelisk," said Aoki as the applause died down. "The O dorms…"

Nagi wondered vaguely if the teacher was giving anyone else any nasty surprises with those piercing eyes of hers.

"I'll be seeing you once you reach Trigonometry," said the Ra advisor.

Sachiko gaped. There was no way a teacher like that could teach such a nightmarish course, was there?

"Have a good year, all!" Aoki finished before turning the microphone back to the headmaster with a sugary "Thank you!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, Satsuki Aoki," said the headmaster. "And now, for the Obelisk Blue dormitory leader… Saika Toriyama!"

[*******]

Saika Toriyama looked much older and more professional than either Aoki or Okamoto. She had dark red hair that stood out against her muted blue shirt, and she surveyed her new charges with dark, hooded eyes.

Amane Hirokawa was very, very nervous as Toriyama-sensei seemed to look in her direction. This wasn't entirely due to the contrast between Toriyama and the other two administrators – her roommate, Rei Yumura, was sitting next to her.

Her first impressions of Rei had been mostly accurate. The indigo-haired girl didn't speak unless spoken to under almost all circumstances, and not speaking even when spoken to was a depressingly common occurrence. To be fair, Amane had been surprised by Rei's amicability last night, but she still couldn't shake the thought that a cold heart or an eerie soul lurked beneath her roommate's deathly pale skin.

Yes, it was stereotyping a bit, and Amane was already telling herself to get over it. But she'd still had trouble sleeping last night

Thankfully, whatever fears Amane might have had about Toriyama-sensei evaporated when the teacher spoke – it seemed that all the dorm administrators were fantastic orators. "What, where's all the applause?" she said drily.

A tension seemed to break over the whole blue dorm as laughter coursed down the ranks of azure-clad students.

"I'm really not that scary," Toriyama insisted. Then she cleared her throat and spoke. "So, welcome to Obelisk Blue. If you're here, it means that you care about getting a quality education. You actually want to learn while you're here – it's the only way you could have gotten in."

Amane quietly thanked the good heavens that she fit Toriyama's blanket statement. Then again, the fact that she did was probably the point.

"Well… this school shall provide," the blue dorm leader assured her charges. "I've worked here pretty much since it turned up, and I can assure you, our staff are all incredible. Those two are actually the newest recruits." She looked back at Okamoto and Aoki, who waved.

"They signed on two years ago, and they're very, very good at their jobs.

"And besides the phenomenal learning experience, I can also promise a fun year. We have plenty of events, most of our courses will give you plenty of free time with our college-based atmosphere, and, of course, there are the Duelling tournaments. Intra- and inter-dorm.

"Now, I know they said their classes had a chance," the teacher joked, "but of course, we're going to win, right?"

Amane cheered as loudly as anyone. She fully intended to take the Duelling scene by storm! …eventually.

"So it's on," said Toriyama. "But it'll be a fight, I warn you. I teach a lot of the Duelling classes here, as well as judging the Obelisk and inter-dorm tournaments, and I don't actually care too much who wins, so everyone's getting the same quality education. If you want victory, you'll have to earn it.

"But that's what you're here for, right?"

"Yeah!" Amane screeched as the blues burst into applause.

"Well, then, see you." Toriyama raised a hand in greeting and returned the microphone to the headmaster.

"So if you need anything," he said, "talk to them. Have a good year, students. Dismissed!"

[*******]

Daigo walked back to the dorm slowly and quietly, pensive eyes cast to the sky.

He had the option to apply for a change of roommate, it would seem. That was certainly looking like an attractive option to him, the boy who'd managed to turn his roommate into a mortal enemy before the start of term. The thought of sleeping in the same room as Masaru every night was already making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

But on the other hand, Daigo thought, if he didn't dorm with Masaru, someone would have to. He recalled the change in atmosphere once his roommate's name was announced. No doubt, a boy of lesser will was quaking in his boots at the thought of rooming with the roguish boy. What to do, what to do…?

"Harukawa-kun?"

"Bwah!" Daigo practically jumped out of his skin. "Okamoto-sensei, where did…"

Toru Okamoto smiled warmly. His hands were in his pockets, Daigo noticed. "When we get back, can I have a little chat with you? You're not in trouble, I promise."

"Oh, uh… sure." Well, that was odd. Is it about Masaru? he wondered.

"Thanks. See you then."

And Okamoto slipped away into the crowd, raising his hand in a gallant farewell.

[*******]

Sachiko walked back to the dorm slowly and quietly, pensive eyes cast to the sky.

She had the option to apply for a change of roommate, it would seem. Nagi was a cold and unsociable girl; the polar opposite of someone like Sachiko. Already, it seemed, Nagi was holding her at arm's length at most. Besides, Nagi had an unsettling quality about her – something about the way she carried herself set Sachiko on edge.

And yet a voice nagged at the back of her head that she shouldn't try for it. Maybe Nagi is just shy, it said. You never know. You tend to be pretty forceful. Maybe she just doesn't like anyone touching her – or maybe she's one of those types that spent all her time alone in a room. You never know.

She turned the possible consequences over. Nagi would probably be happier with another roommate, she knew, and she might be, too. But at the same time, it felt like cheating – and an insult to Nagi – to try and apply for a change of roommate already. What to do, what to do…?

Sachiko returned to reality; the deep thought was giving her a headache. As she looked around at the crowd of students, mostly clad in spiffy yellow uniforms in all sorts of styles, she noticed a flash of darkness and –

Was that Nagi there? How coincidental!

She walked quickly, but Sachiko took sharper notice of her new roommate now that she'd been pondering possible personalities. Nagi was taller than she'd given her credit for; at least a hundred seventy centimetres. She had very pale skin and thick, wavy black hair that stretched about to the small of her back. Her clothing honestly wasn't very nice; she wouldn't associate it with someone who could afford a private school. Say, hadn't she been wearing those same pants yesterday…?

And the pallor of Nagi's skin made the bags beneath her dark, analytical eyes all the more noticeable. She obviously hadn't slept much, if at all, the night before.

Sachiko wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for her or hate her, which pretty much set her back to square one.

Nagi was walking very quickly and purposefully. She manoeuvred through the crowd with ease; she was out of Sachiko's sight in moments. But Sachiko slowed and stopped, renewing her concentrated thought in spite of her headache.

[*******]

"Excuse me. Aoki-sensei?"

"You're Nagi Yuryuin, right?"

"Yes… I wanted to talk to you about my roommate."

[*******]

Amane walked back to the dorm slowly and quietly, pensive eyes cast to the sky.

She had the option to apply for a change of roommate, it would seem. It was tempting – Rei was scary, and having to attend class with all that sleep lost would be a daunting task – but Amane doubted if she should go through with it. Rei wasn't overtly malicious at all; she just didn't talk and looked like a ghost. Besides, wasn't it cheating to try and get a different roommate? It was probably fate that she wound up with the eerie girl!

She'd just managed to decide that when she bumped into someone from behind.

"Eek!"

The boy she'd hit whirled around and leered at her with dark, beady eyes. He was short and stocky, with spiky blue hair and a rugged cobalt jacket of a uniform. She couldn't catch the name; he turned too quickly.

"Why, you – ooh…" His fury quickly dissipated once he saw who he'd hit. "Oh. Uh, you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" He was

"Heheh, that's good." That laugh just sounded stupid, though. "Wouldn't want a cutie like you gettin' hurt… So how 'bout…"

"Oh, for… You're embarrassing yourself, Sakaguchi."

Here to save Amane from being hit on by a random senpai was a much taller, leaner boy with a long, aquiline nose, spiky white-blond hair, and narrow, cunning, storm-blue eyes.

"Kazuya-kun," Sakaguchi whined, "ya just had to ruin it, didn't you?"

"You did that just fine by yourself, thank you very much," replied Kazuya Kashiwaya (or so his blue-and-gold nameplate said). "I'm here as damage control. Just be glad Akihara didn't interrupt you instead of me. Hitting on a girl that just bumped into you, honestly…"

The way Kashiwaya-senpai said the name "Akihara" was a bit scary. He was on such bad terms with Akihara, it seemed, that he had to practically spit the name out of his mouth. Even so, his voice was less condescending than it had been when he was addressing Sakaguchi-senpai… A rival, perhaps?

"Uh, who's Akihara?" Amane asked, the epitome of tact.

"Another of your senpai," Kashiwaya sighed. "Not a pleasant person, especially not to an oaf like Sakaguchi. She'd be on your side in a case like this, though." He frowned. "Honestly, she's a bit of a mystery."

So she was a girl? Oh, how interesting! Was she an ex, or…?

"Aw, I have my plus sides," Sakaguchi protested.

"I'm sure you do, but let's not try and make sense of Akihara's mind. That's a task better left to Fuyumi."

Fuyumi – as in Fuyumi Nagisa, the girl who'd managed the entrance exams? Amane wasn't quite so tactless as to ask that, though.

"Sorry about that," said Kashiwaya. "Let's head back to the dorm. I need to apply for a change of roommate."

"Hey!" Sakaguchi complained. "You're kidding, right?"

Amane giggled inwardly. They got along well.

[*******]

Amane was careful to watch Sakaguchi-senpai (first name Tadashi) and Kashiwaya-senpai as they ate, just to make sure they really were as friendly as she'd assumed. It seemed they were; in spite of Kashiwaya's mild arrogance and condescension towards his wider, cruder friend, the boys sat together, and when it came down to it, Kashiwaya didn't change his roommate after all. He was, however, called away by Toriyama-sensei to discuss something else.

Amane couldn't help but think the gender concentration in these tables was a little odd. The tables in the dining room were arranged in a horseshoe shape around a massive, incredibly varied buffet table that Amane had done a significant part to help empty. She sat near the top of the horseshoe, near the place where a couple sat next to each other, so as to giggle at Sakaguchi's and Kashiwaya's antics. A mass of girls was off to her right and the boys were mostly off to her left; Sakaguchi and Kashiwaya were in the middle of that clump.

But Fuyumi Nagisa and a few academy newcomers sat beyond the boys, along with a long-coat-wearing girl with long, black hair and a bored expression.

The outcasts? Fuyumi Nagisa was an outcast?

Mind, everyone looked perfectly happy over at that end of the horseshoe. But still, it was so odd to think that someone like Fuyumi-senpai would be sitting apart from the rest of the group. She wondered why –

CRASH

Amane shrieked and flinched instinctively. When she found herself still alive and well after a second or so, she looked around the circumference of the tables. It seemed that a newcomer boy had knocked over Sakaguchi's tray.

"HEY!"

Sakaguchi managed to make himself seem bigger and scarier than Amane would have thought possible.

"WHAT THE HELL D'YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he bellowed.

"And so it begins," a chilling voice sighed.

Amane started. Fuyumi-senpai and her black-haired friend, an imposing girl of roughly Fuyumi's height, had risen.

"We haven't even started school yet and you're already losing your temper, Sakaguchi," dark-hair sighed.

"I must admit, I'm disappointed," Fuyumi added with mock sorrow.

"It - what - this kid - !"

"I won't ask," said Fuyumi. But really, Sakaguchi, I'm sure this boy is sorry. Aren't you?"

The boy nodded emphatically. "I really am, I promise… I'm always really clumsy. I can get you some new ones and wash your uniform if you'd like!"

Amane gaped at the boy's high voice and servile response, a large drop of sweat materializing near her forehead. Who was he?

"Oh, for… It's too late now, ain't it?" Sakaguchi snarled.

"That's enough, Sakaguchi," said dark-hair. "If you want to vent your anger issues, do it on the Duelling fields."

"Yanno what? I think I will!"

[*******]

"You idiot, Sakaguchi!"

Kashiwaya was livid as he stormed into the Duelling fields after Sakaguchi-senpai. Amane had quietly followed along after him.

"I leave for all of five minutes and you lose control!" he bellowed, seizing his shorter friend by the collar. "You just flip out on some newbie and bam, you're here doing what? Duelling Fuyumi-san with an ante! And Toriyama dragging along the rest of the school to watch over dinner – you've been set up for public humiliation!"

"If we have someone who improves in Kashiwaya's presence, we know we have an accomplishment," said Akihara drily.

"Now, now," said Fuyumi.

"You know what – give me that!" Kazuya snatched the Deck out of his friend's hand. "I'll Duel in your stead. Now you at least have some hope, although your chances are still slim since you built this Deck!" Oddly, he started rifling through his friend's cards.

Amane was suddenly struck with the feeling she was being watched. She turned around, and –

"Eeeek!"

The rest of the Obelisk dorm was filing into the bleachers surrounding the arena.

"Toriyama-sensei?" Amane squeaked.

"Oh, hello, Hirokawa-san." The red-haired teacher waved from the bleachers. "Come join us."

Amane didn't hesitate to comply, of course. "Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked as she squeezed into a seat next to the teacher.

"We may as well start the year off with a Duel over dinner," Toriyama shrugged. "I invited Aoki-san and Okamoto-san to come down as well. Ah, over here, Yumura-san."

Amane paled, approaching the nigh-albinism of her terrifying roommate. The apparently mute girl seemed to glide up the stairs, which didn't help at all in convincing Amane she wouldn't have a ghost in her room every night for the next year.

"You don't mind having Yumura-san as your roommate, do you?" Toriyama asked.

"N-no," Amane decided, if only because Yumura was right next to her.

"That's good. I know she can be a bit off-putting, but she really is a nice girl.

"She's here to do some special services for the school," the teacher explained after receiving Amane's curious glance. "I'm not saying what they are, though hopefully, she won't have any work to do at all and she'll just be able to learn. That would be ideal, no?" She looked at Yumura.

The ghoulish girl actually nodded, her relatively short, hime-cut black hair falling over her shoulders.

Kazuya, back on the ground, thrust a card into Sakaguchi's hand. "Here," he said brusquely, before pulling a card out of his Deck box without even looking and thrusting it into the Deck.

Eh? What was that?

"It wouldn't be a Duel without the priceless, very rare, one-of-a-kind, pink porcelain Imperial Dragon," Akihara deadpanned.

Imperial Dragon? Hirokawa had never even heard of a card called Imperial Dragon. Then again, it was priceless, very rare, and one-of-a-kind. It might even be pink and/or porcelain, though Amane doubted that.

"I'm playing, aren't I?" said Kashiwaya.

Toriyama-sensei stood suddenly, revealing her surprising height, and waved out to the arena. "Akihara-san! Sakaguchi-san!" she called. "Come here!"

"Good luck," said Akihara to Fuyumi-senpai. She got a nod and a radiant smile before turning and joining the rest of the Blues in the bleachers. Sakaguchi said much the same thing to his representative, though he said it in a much more masculine dialect.

Amane looked around at the audience and started. The Yellows and Reds were starting to file in, albeit from different entrances.

"Hey, Toriyama-san!"

The yellow-clad Aoki-senpai was worming through the blue crowd with surprising agility.

"So what gave you this idea?"

"I'm trying to lighten up," said Toriyama.

"I like the idea, though. Ooh, and it's Fuyumi versus Kashiwaya?"

"So it seems. It's an even better turn out than I'd hoped. No promises about Kashiwaya's deck, though. He's borrowing an unrefined Sakaguchi creation."

"Well, even so… C'mon, let's go to the judges' stand."

"You two will be alright here?" The redheaded teacher turned her attention to Amane and Rei. The former said a surprised "Oh, yeah," while the latter nodded soundlessly.

"Hey."

The final advisor spoke – the debonair Okamoto, towering over the seated students. He was accompanied by, of all people, the headmaster, his face a warm, white shock against the complete black of his hair and dress.

"Let's hit the box," said Okamoto.

"Yes, let's go," Toriyama agreed. The four teachers walked up the bleachers, a multicoloured array of multifaceted whimsy.

[*******]

**/Duel Start/**

**Kazuya Kashiwaya VS Nagisa Fuyumi**

**[4000||4000]**

"Let's make this quick," Kazuya muttered. "Who'll go first?"

"How about you?" Nagisa suggested.

Honestly, Kazuya had been very surprised to see his old rival again in the second year. Had she gotten prettier over the break, or were his hormones just belatedly responding to her? It didn't matter, though. He wasn't about to go head-over-heels for Nagisa Fuyumi.

Neither had he expected to have the whole school looking in on a Duel between him and his nemesis. That was… rather embarrassing. Oh, well. He'd be able to prove his competence once he was actually Duelling; reputations were often terribly deceiving.

He had no objections to going first; he had a good base of cards – two copies of Lady Assailant of Flames, Dimensional Fissure, Dark Bribe, and Cyber Dragon. Sakaguchi had elected to run his old removal Deck, though he seemed to have made the profound decision to include Lady Assailant of Flames, a Flip monster that could inflict eight hundred damage to the opponent if the top three cards of the controller's Deck were removed from play.

The tactics of Lady Assailant of Flames conflicted somewhat with his overall beat-down strategy – Sakaguchi had failed to exploit the regenerative gaps that set removal Decks above the rest – and Kazuya still doubted if it would be able to accomplish the goals of a removal Deck, but that was no matter. She would make an excellent first-turn gambit.

He drew his sixth card with a bit of a flourish. It was another useful monster to Set, Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. The Assailant, one of the stronger Flip monsters Kazuya knew of, was actually stronger, and using Dekoichi's draw power so early in the Duel would be a tad redundant.

But first things first. "First, I'll activate Dimensional Fissure."

The arena flickered to life. The hologram projectors in the floor radiated a beautiful prismatic glow and began to hum with energy. Was everything prettier to him now?

He glanced at Akihara out in the stands and met the usual unbreakable glare. Nope, just Fuyumi and the field. Dammit.

Two scarlet ribbons arced out of thin air and tied themselves into bows, and then – the most terrible darkness technology could create expanded between them, simulating a tear in the fabric of reality. In the stands, Nagi Yuryuin suddenly started giggling – she'd seen that particular gap effect before. KaibaCorp had paid the doujin's sole creator a sizable sum for use of the effect some time ago, she recalled – but she'd never seen a gap in such lifelike detail before.

"Any monsters sent to the Graveyard will be removed from play instead," he said by force of habit, though he knew his opponent knew the card's effect well.

"Next, I'll Set a monster" – a Lady Assailant of Flames, he decided; burning his opponent early in the Duel could be good for him – "and a Spell or Trap Card" – Dark Bribe; Nagisa was probably using her signature Counter Fairies, and keeping a counter-counter on hand could be very useful – "and end my turn."

Nagisa drew her sixth card and appraised her hand only briefly before playing. "I'll activate Trade-In," she decided. A mahogany holographic table hovered in the air before her.

"Splendid Venus is removed from play, and I get to draw two cards," she said. She slotted the card into the remove-from-play slot just below the Graveyard, which was a disturbingly recent addition to the Duel Disk. Then the hologram projectors got to work.

First, in a shimmering display of light, a golden figurine burst onto the table. The statue was in the likeness of an imposing armoured angel with four huge, feathery wings, and it was quite impressive even as it came to an anticlimactic rest on the surface of the table.

Then a simulated "wind" began to blow across the arena. Fans whirred to life on Nagisa's side of the arena, blowing her golden ponytail towards the gaping rift on Kazuya's side of the field. The figurine skittered forward for a few seconds, teetering on the edge of the table, and then flew through the air into the rift.

"That was impressive," Nagisa said pleasantly. She then set to evaluating her two new cards.

"Well, I'll Set a monster and a non-monster," she decided, "and play the Field Spell Card, The Sanctuary in the Sky!"

The Duellists seemed to be soaring into a blue sky as the hologram projectors kicked into overdrive. Eventually, they passed a dark shape and slowed down. Soon, they were speeding towards the shape – which was revealed to be a marble palace in a Greek style. The Sanctuary in the Sky - in a battle involving her Fairy-Type monsters, Nagisa could take no damage.

"Now I end my turn," said Nagisa, smiling.

**Turn II**

**[4000||4000]**

Kazuya whipped a card off the top of his Deck – Macro Cosmos. The Trap Card had more removal power than Dimensional Fissure, but that, he decided, was irrelevant – there was no point in having two removal cards up at the same time, no matter the situation. It was time to act.

"I Flip Summon the Lady Assailant of Flames," he declared. From the inverted image of a face-down Duel Monsters card sprang a burst of fire, and in its wake, a fiery-haired girl clad in a shinobi's attire glared at Nagisa's field.

/Lady Assailant of Flames\

[****]

|1500/ATK|

|DEF/1000|

"And because I Flip Summoned her," said Kazuya, "I can remove from play the top three cards of my Deck to inflict eight hundred damage to your Life Points."

As Kazuya slipped cards from the top of his Deck into his removed-from-play slot, embers began hovering around the ninja. Once all three cards were set, the assailant aimed her knife at Nagisa. The embers, obeying her command, went flying in the blonde's direction, searing away eight hundred Life Points.

**[4000||3200]**

"But she won't be staying for long," continued Kazuya. "Because I'm going to Tribute her and Summon Cyber Dragon!"

The ninja knelt, bowing her head. She slowly began glowing, brighter and brighter, until light eclipsed her features. Then the light began to change shape – it grew longer, thicker, spiralling through the air. At last, the light dissipated, revealing a huge, metallic serpent that had replaced the comparatively weak assassin.

/Cyber Dragon\

[*****]

|2100/ATK|

|DEF/1600|

"Now, Cyber Dragon," Kazuya commanded, "attack Fuyumi's face-down!"

The serpent moved at an incredible speed, twisting through the air like a roller coaster and speeding through the projected face-down card like a bullet train. Aura the Priestess managed to express her surprise for a moment before she exploded into polygons.

"I end my turn," the boy finished as his dragon settled back onto his side of the field. He waited.

Nothing happened.

"Grr... What now?" Kazuya muttered.

"Did you remove D.D. Scout Plane from play?" Nagisa guessed.

"D.D. ..." Kazuya rifled through his removed-from-play zone. "Huh. So I guess it comes back to the field in Attack Position."

A round, satellite-like probe came floating out of the void of the Dimensional Fissure.

/D.D. Scout Plane\

[***]

|0800/ATK|

|DEF/1200|

Nagisa drew a card nonchalantly, as if Kazuya hadn't just gained a formidable advantage over the field. Then she played, and Kazuya saw why: he hadn't just gained a formidable advantage over the field. At least, not compared to what Nagisa was about to do next.

"I place a face-down, and then, I activate Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!"

Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen – the true cornerstone of modern Fairy Decks. Since Nagisa's field was clear of monsters, she could Special Summon any Fairy-Type monster she'd like. If she had an Athena or another Splendid Venus in her hand, Kazuya would be fighting an uphill battle.

Thank goodness he'd laid down some preparation. "I activate Dark Bribe!" he exclaimed.

From a spiral of energy, Valhalla's battlefield was starting to take form even on the floor of the Sanctuary in the Sky – but the helix suddenly stopped as Kazuya's Trap opened.

Then Nagisa said something that made his heart plummet: "So do I!"

FFFFFFFFFF

If she had Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord in her hand, he was done for!

"Draw a card," said Nagisa as Valhalla finished assembling itself. Kazuya did so only bitterly – Nagisa was almost guaranteed a turnaround now.

He was right. "Now, then, I think I'll Special Summon Splendid Venus!"

It was the same armoured angel as before – but now, her shimmering armour could glitter in its full splendour. Four dazzling wings spread from her back, and a scarlet orb lay in the tip of her staff, but besides that, she only wore gold – a sort of armoured dress in glimmering aural colours.

/Splendid Venus\

[********]

|2800/ATK|

|DEF/2400|

"As you know," said Fuyumi, "the non-Fairy-Type monsters on the field lose five hundred ATK and DEF while Splendid Venus is up. So the once-mighty Cyber Dragon now has sixteen hundred ATK, and your Scout Plane is reduced to a paltry three hundred!"

On cue, Splendid Venus began radiating an intense aura of light. Kazuya's monsters recoiled, blinded by the light.

"Attack D.D. Scout Plane, Splendid Venus!" Nagisa sang.

The angelic knight raised her staff, the scarlet orb at the end beginning to glow with a radiant white light. An orb of light crackled into being in a flash of light that made Kazuya blink. Then the orb rocketed forward and hit the Scout Plane. Just to make the point of the complete devastation Kazuya faced, the bullet kept moving and went straight through him, too.

**[1500||3200]**

"I shall now end my turn," said Nagisa in a faux-prim-and-proper voice. "Oh, and look – you get your Scout Plane back."

"Right," Kazuya grumbled, having forgotten his card's effect again.

**Turn III**

**[1500||3200]**

Kazuya grimaced as he drew his card. He'd gotten Allure of Darkness last turn, but now, all he had was a Hidden Armoury. Well, if ever there was a time for draw power, it was now.

"I activate Hidden Armoury," he began. It was best to thin out his Deck a bit before drawing. "I'll grab a copy of D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation from my Deck."

A small holographic display flashed to life above his Duel Disk, asking him to choose a card to add to his hand. He scrolled down a bit and selected D.D.R. Though he had no use for it now, it could help him considerably later – and, more to the point, there was less chance of his drawing it when he used his next card.

He waited for a moment as his Duel Disk shuffled his Deck for him. Then he activated his first true draw-power card. "Next, I'll activate Allure of Darkness!"

A little dark vortex spiralled into existence before Kazuya. He whipped two cards off the top of his Deck and examined them: D.D. Survivor and Mystical Space Typhoon. The former was of little use while Splendid Venus was still on the field, and though he wouldn't get it back, he fed D.D. Survivor to the vortex. Dekoichi was too valuable a resource.

He decided to set up that resource, Setting Dekoichi. Then…

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! Your face-down is gone," he said. One thunderbolt later, Solemn Judgment was in the Graveyard.

"Then I'll end my turn," Kazuya shrugged. Three monsters – a good defence.

Nagisa drew, her paradoxical poker-face still firmly attached. Her move was anticlimactic: "I lay a face-down, destroy Cyber Dragon with Splendid Venus, and end my turn."

**Turn IV**

**[1500||3200]**

Kazuya drew – and beheld his hope for salvation.

It was the perfect card. Three thousand attack power was just the beginning – it had the ability to stop Splendid Venus and give him back control of the Duel, and no matter how many times Nagisa replaced her great fairy, he'd be able to knock it right back down.

It was priceless. It was very rare. It was pretty close to one-of-a-kind. It wasn't pink or porcelain, but it was the Imperial Dragon.

Imperial Dragon was a level eight monster with three thousand ATK, two thousand DEF, and an effect that could easily win Kazuya the Duel. He could select any one monster on the field besides the Imperial Dragon when he Summoned the card. Besides Imperial Dragon and the selected monster, every monster on the field would lose its effect.

The card was not without weaknesses. If it was alone on the field, it would be removed from play, and if the opponent managed to wrest control of it away from Kazuya, they would be able to choose their own target. But in a Deck focused around removing cards from play, Kazuya knew that he could easily win.

And he could do it, too.

"I activate D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation!" he began. "By discarding Macro Cosmos from my hand to the Graveyard" – it was a worthy sacrifice – "I can bring back the Cyber Dragon that was just removed from play!"

The silver serpent hurtled out of the void, a draconic bullet train.

/Cyber Dragon\

[*****]

|1600/ATK|

|DEF/1100|

"I'm putting it in Defence Position," he said blandly. "Not that it will matter much. Next I'll Flip Summon Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive!"

Now a demonic steam train joined the draconic bullet train.

/Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive\

[****]

|0900/ATK|

|DEF/0500|

"That means I can draw a card." No point wasting a perfectly good card. He drew, and found…

…yes! Escape from the Dark Dimension! Now even Solemn Judgment couldn't stop him!

"Then I'll lay down a face-down." He did so with a vile smile.

"Of course, next, I'll Tribute Dekoichi and D.D. Scout Plane… to Tribute Summon the Imperial Dragon!"

Dark clouds gathered around the Sanctuary in the Sky, and out of these clouds came flying a titanic black dragon. Its huge, leathery wings continued to block out the "sun" even when its attendant clouds dissipated, and its tail stretched all the way to the next card zone, touching the Cyber Dragon. It glared down at the battlefield with stormy eyes not unlike Kazuya's own for a short while before flaring out the fins on the sides of its head and unleashing a deafening roar.

The Imperial Dragon had arrived.

[*******]

Nagi gulped. This was not looking good.

She rather liked Nagisa, who had been perfectly nice to them at the entrance exams and had proven to be a brutal Duellist during this short confrontation. Kashiwaya also seemed to be in the wrong here, representing a bully who picked on a clumsy fellow first-year. Going in, she was rooting for the girl whose name comprised her own.

That seemed to be the majority opinion. Some of the Obelisk Blue students to her left were also looking nervous.

Seeing the monstrous Imperial Dragon take the field, therefore, was a mortifying sight. Even as it suffered from the light of Splendid Venus, it still threatened to be a powerful foe – and, whether through the darkness of the clouds around it or the mortifying effect of Imperial Dragon, it promised to blot out that light very soon. While Imperial Dragon was face-up, only one other monster's effect could be used. If he targeted Cyber Dragon…

/Imperial Dragon\

[********]

|2500/ATK|

|DEF/1500|

But Nagi had to wonder… Was the face-down card Dark Bribe? Otherwise, why hadn't Nagisa simply negated the Summon? And wasn't Kashiwaya prepared to face that eventuality? That D.D. Scout Plane would return to the field in Attack Position… Nagi herself wouldn't feel comfortable with such a gamble, or so she thought. Perhaps worse, what if the face-down was Mirror Force? Though Nagi didn't own a copy of that card, a glance through some of her classmates' Decks had proven that she seemed to be the only one who fulfilled that criterion in the school.

"Of course, its effect activates," Kashiwaya said confidently. But his confidence, to Nagi's delight, was turned upside-down when Nagisa smiled.

"I was waiting for that," she said. "I'll chain Divine Wrath to that."

"Divine – "

No, it seemed Kashiwaya had been too shortsighted, in his rush to Summon the Imperial Dragon, to consider the array of negative cards Nagisa could have put out. Come to think of it, it was a bit like the proctor from Nagi's own entrance Duel and his Stone Giant Grakal – a person was convinced that their victory rode on a single combo and thus pursued it to the end, failing to realize that the risk they were taking was simply too great and losing as a result.

Was this more common than Nagi realized? Kashiwaya seemed to be considered a potent Duellist. If that trick could even fool the greats, Nagi thought, perhaps she – or at least her style – was better at this game than she realized.

Of course, the whole game was simply too stressful and too luck-based for Nagi's tastes – she'd avoid it if possible. Still, it was comforting to know she wouldn't flounder like a fish in her Duel-based classes.

"I'll discard my third and final Splendid Venus," Nagisa said dismissively. The image of the angelic knight soared over the battlefield briefly, glowing white. Eventually, the white glow altogether absorbed it. Once there was nothing left but a glowing white orb, the orb hurtled down towards the Imperial Dragon and blasted it into triangles. The entire mass was promptly sucked into the void.

"That was an uncharacteristically bad move on Kashiwaya's part," remarked one Satoko Natsuki from two seats above Nagi. The girl should look familiar - red hair and a round face, just like her younger sister Sachiko. "Something's distracting him."

"Maybe it's just his being hungry and stressed," her sister suggested. "He didn't get to eat before he came down here."

"I bet that's it," the elder Natsuki agreed.

Talking of stress, Sachiko thought, her roommate didn't look so good, either. Now that she got a good look at Nagi Yuryuin, she looked horribly tired, with heavy bags over her bleary eyes. How on earth did that happen?

Kashiwaya was oddly calm as his dragon was blasted to bits, though. It was as if he didn't realize he'd lost.

"I'll place a face-down," he said smoothly, "and end my turn."

Two words ran through Nagi's mind: Mirror Force?

There was a long pause. Kashiwaya was putting off resurrecting his monster. Finally, Nagisa spoke:

"You have to bring back your D.D. Scout Plane," she sang. "In Attack Position."

Kashiwaya's reaction cemented quite clearly that he hadn't Set a Mirror Force – he'd simply forgotten his card's effect again. He scowled as his Scout Plane lazily drifted out of the gap.

Nagi briefly pictured Yakumo-sama herself smiling her demonic smile as she pushed the probe out of Mayohiga and found herself giggling again. She stopped, however, in time to hear a cold voice beside her say:

"That was intelligent."

Nagi turned to see who'd spoken. It was an Obelisk girl in a long coat of the same style Nagi herself had chosen. She had silky black hair that reached nearly to her waist, a figure to rival Nagisa's, and a clear face morphed by a coldly satisfied smirk.

She'd probably never see the girl again, seeing as she wouldn't be competing in the inter-Dorm tournaments and inhabited the Ra dorm. That was probably good for her – she did not want to be on the receiving end of those dark, frighteningly intelligent eyes. This person ruined her self-esteem.

As Nagi turned back to the Duelling field and watched the end-of-game cermonies – with Nagisa being incredibly cheerful and friendly while Kashiwaya scowled and stomped about, snapping at his client and his rival in turn – she failed to notice Shizuka Akihara appraising her in turn.

[*******]

"Aoki-sensei?"

"Natsumi-san? What's up?"

"Um... It's about my roommate."

"Oh. Yeah, I was afraid of that." Aoki frowned. "Have a seat."

Sachiko pulled up her chair and sat down. It was one of those plush chairs that spun around, and she'd ordinarily be practically squeeing with delight, but at the moment she was in far too serious a mood to do that. Thank goodness the office's muted blue walls were so welcoming. (It was a bit odd to see blue in a building that seemed to be all yellow, but the change of pace was nice.)

"Yuryuin is your roommate, right?"

"Yes."

"She actually already came down to see me. She didn't try and talk to you?"

"Huh?" Oh, dear. So Yuryuin did hate her. What did she do, anyway? They'd barely met!

"She said she was going to try and talk to you. Have you seen her since the Duel?"

"N-no..."

"Oh. Well, that would be it." Aoki folded her hands and looked Sachiko in the eye. "She actually told me not to switch your room just yet."

"Wh-what?"

"She said she wanted to talk to you herself," said Aoki, "but I guess that might not happen for a while. So if you don't mind, can I give you some advice for dealing with her?"

"S-sure... But why...?"

"She said that she probably seems cold," Aoki explained. "But she's not, not really. She's basically terminally shy. Being around so many unfamiliar people scares the crap out of her."

Oh. That explained a lot. Nagi had been tired, hadn't she? With bags around her eyes and slow speech. Apparently, she'd just been scared to be in the same room as a stranger. It made sense on a certain level, albeit not much.

"I... I see."

"So you sort of have to handle with care," the advisor said. "Be nice, and don't come on too strong. She's not great with emotions, either."

"Got it."

"Thanks. Well, good luck. Was there anything else you wanted?"

"No, I'm all right, thank you."

As Sachiko walked out of the advisor's office and towards her dorm, she heard an all-too-familiar voice.

"Natsuki-san?"

"Yuryuin-san?" she said, turning to meet her roommate's eyes.

"Right... can we talk?"

"Certainly."

And they walked off into their home away from home.


End file.
